20 Facts About Brian MacKay-Lyons

Brian Gerald MacKay-Lyons was born on 26 August 1954 and is a Canadian architect best known for his designs for houses on the coast of his native Nova Scotia, and his use of Atlantic Canadian vernacular materials and construction techniques.

Brian MacKay-Lyons is a founding partner of MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, and a professor of at the Dalhousie University School of Architecture in Halifax.

Brian MacKay-Lyons was strongly influenced by the region's history, Maritime landscape, architecture and functionalist design.

Brian MacKay-Lyons studied architecture at the Technical University of Nova Scotia.

Brian MacKay-Lyons later pursued his Master's in Architecture and Urban Design from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he worked closely on Urban Design projects with Barton Myers and Charles Moore.

In 1983, Brian MacKay-Lyons returned to Nova Scotia to work on vernacular designs and to teach full time at Dalhousie University, where he holds a full professorship in architecture.

Brian MacKay-Lyons began to create a large repertoire of residential projects, though his first buildings were urban.

Talbot Sweetapple was a student of Brian MacKay-Lyons, and began to work for him while he was a single practitioner.

Brian MacKay-Lyons seeks to implement aspects of traditional practice in the relationships of the firm, such as encouraging the dynamic of apprentice to master-builder, as opposed to intern to architect.

Brian MacKay-Lyons has held numerous visiting academic positions at universities in the United States, Canada and Germany.

Brian MacKay-Lyons is a five-time winner of the Governor General's Medal for architecture, fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

In 1994, Brian MacKay-Lyons began an educational summer design-build program on his family farm near Kingsburg, Nova Scotia entitled the Ghost Architectural Laboratory.

Brian MacKay-Lyons witnessed how the early settlers of Arcadia often tacked generations of their houses onto one another.

Brian MacKay-Lyons has stated that he is more interested in rediscovering something that has already been understood, than he is in inventing something new.

Brian MacKay-Lyons therefore believes that his buildings belong to the history of architecture.

Brian MacKay-Lyons has described the vernacular as being a process or a cultural view connected to material culture and the culture of building.

Brian MacKay-Lyons believes cultural sustainability arises when local materials and building practices are used, and has stated that, 'vernacular is what you do when you can't afford to get it wrong'.

Brian MacKay-Lyons adapted this cultural, democratic ethic in his work through the continued use of simple, quiet forms and traditional vernacular styles.

Brian MacKay-Lyons is dedicated to building at least one project a year under $100,000 to stay connected to his democratic ideals and vernacular methods.

Brian MacKay-Lyons believes that architecture can only be successful when it is both accessible and affordable.