Darguin Fortuna, AIA

Darguin Fortuna, AIA

For his multidisciplinary firm based in Salem, Massachusetts, Fortuna helps his ambitious clients achieve their bold ideas. His leadership and his firm’s resources were critical to helping the city of Boston and the Boston Society of Architects consider designing affordable multifamily housing at a small scale through the Future Decker RFI. After initially meeting a client while working as an Uber driver in college, Fortuna reconnected with him and helped envision a five-home community where the client could raise his family and leave a legacy.

Flow Design Architects has also garnered a significant following on YouTube, where more than 20,000 active subscribers tune in to learn about design and advocacy. By leveraging social media and his storytelling prowess, Fortuna has raised awareness of the profession and elevated the dialogue surrounding it. His submission to the 2022 AIA Film Challenge, The Change We Seek, confronted the lack of diversity in the profession and pushed for a better understanding of the needs of minority communities. The compelling film, which Fortuna began making just weeks before the submission deadline, received the People’s Choice award.

Fortuna is also an eager educator and has engaged with middle and high school students enrolled at Boston Collegiate Charter School after being recruited by its art teacher. At his alma mater, Boston Architectural College, he has created several classes that introduce students across all disciplines to the concepts of critical thinking, analysis, and sketching. He’s also a tutor at the college’s learning resource center.

To say that Fortuna, who sports a tattoo of AIA’s logo, is a diehard AIA member is an understatement. He served as the Small Firm Exchange representative for both Massachusetts and Maine, focusing his outreach on ensuring small firms understand what resources AIA can offer them. His service there led to his role as the Young Architects Forum representative from Massachusetts, and he supported the group’s mission as a member of its Knowledge Committee and Special Projects team.

In many ways, Fortuna is the embodiment of the change the profession seeks and requires. His dedication to practice, education, and community service is laudable, but his true impact can be found in the future and emerging professionals he empowers and inspires.