Dalhousie University - Architecture

Professor
BEDS, BArch (TUNS), MArchUD (UCLA)

Born and raised in Arcadia, Nova Scotia, Brian is both a Dalhousie alumnus and the only native Nova Scotian faculty member in the history of the school. He received his BArch and the RAIC medal from TUNS in 1978; and his MArchUD and the Dean's Award for Design from UCLA in 1982. Brian returned home from Italy in 1983 to accept a teaching position, to challenge the Maritime 'brain drain', and to make a cultural contribution where his ancestors have lived for nearly 400 years. Like his mentors Charles Moore, Giancarlo de Carlo, and Glenn Murcutt, he believed that a complete architect would be engaged in both teaching and practice.

Since 1985 Brian's practice-based research has built an international reputation for design excellence, confirmed by 67 awards, including five Governor General's Medals, six Canadian Architect Awards, Architectural Record House Awards, and an AIA Honor Award. His work has been published in 164 books, journals, and monographs including The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture, American Houses for the New Century, The History of Canadian Architecture, Encyclopedia of 20th Century World Architecture, Brian MacKay-Lyons: Selected Works 1986-1997, Wallpaper, The Architectural Review, Architectural Record, and Architecture. Plain Modern: The Architecture of Brian MacKay-Lyons, written by historian Malcolm Quantrill, was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2005. This work has been the subject of 74 exhibitions, including "10 Shades of Green" by the Architectural League of New York. A Fellow of the RAIC (FRAIC) and the Royal Academy of Arts (RCA), Brian is also an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon. FAIA).

In addition to his 24 years as a Dalhousie professor (currently half-time), Brian has held visiting professorships at Harvard, McGill, Houston, and Auburn Universities, the Sargent Professorship at Syracuse, the Davis Professorship at Tulane, the Bullock Chair at Texas A&M, the Kea Distinguished Professorship at Maryland, the John Williams Professorship at Arkansas, the Fischer Chair at Michigan, and the Moore Chair at Washington University in St. Louis. Brian has given 155 lectures on his work internationally, including the "Emerging Voices" lecture at the Architectural League of New York.

Each July Brian offers the 'Ghost' international internship on his farm. This design-build workshop involving professors, students, and architects functions as a research laboratory. Brian contributes to the architectural community through participation on professional design juries, including the National Capital Commission in Ottawa since 1996.

While Brian's house designs have made him a leading proponent of critical regionalist architecture worldwide, the practice is in transition. A new office in Halifax's north end, where the firm has been engaged for two decades, now facilitates larger, public, and international commissions, including a new Canadian High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh. As an important aspect of this evolution, Talbot Sweetapple (MArch 1997) became a partner in May 2005 in MacKay-Lyons, Sweetapple Architects Limited.

Brian advocates the unity of our discipline as an art which encompasses both the academy and practice. There is only one world; if it doesn't fit your ideals, then change it.

Brian can be contacted at 902 429 1867 or through MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects.