Home | Referral Networks

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Ltd
Brian was born and raised in the village of Arcadia in Southwestern Nova Scotia. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from the Technical University of Nova Scotia in 1978 where he was awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Medal. He received his Master of Architecture and Urban Design at U.C.L.A., and was awarded the Dean's Award for Design.

After studying in China, Japan, California and Italy working with Charles Moore, Barton Myers and Giancarlo De Carlo, Brian returned to Nova Scotia in 1983 to challenge the historic maritime 'brain drain' trend, and to make a cultural contribution to Nova Scotia where his Acadian and Mi'kmaq ancestors have lived for centuries. In 1985 he founded the firm Brian MacKay-Lyons Architecture Urban Design in Halifax. Twenty years later, Brian partnered with Talbot Sweetapple to form MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Ltd. The firm has built an international reputation for design excellence confirmed by 140+ awards, including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Firm Award in 2014; seven Governor General Medals; three American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Honor Awards for Architecture and two AIA Housing Design Awards; thirteen Lieutenant Governor’s Medals of Excellence; eight Canadian Architect Awards; four Architectural Record Houses Awards; and thirteen North American Wood Design Awards. In 2015, Brian was awarded the RAIC Gold Medal, Canada’s highest honour for lifetime achievement in architecture. He is a fellow with both the RAIC and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA); was named Honorary (International) Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon.FAIA) in 2001, and was made an International Fellow by the Royal Institute of British Architects (Int. FRIBA) in January, 2016. In 2017 the firm was awarded the prestigious Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, presented at an awards gala in Paris.

Brian's work has been recognized in over 680 monographs, books, journal and web publications internationally, including six monographs: Seven Stories from a Village Architect (1996); Brian MacKay-Lyons: Selected Works 1986-1997 (1998); Plain Modern: The Architecture of Brian MacKay-Lyons by Malcolm Quantrill (2005); Ghost: Building an Architectural Vision (2008); Local Architecture: Building Place, Craft, and Community (2014); and the most recent publication Economy as Ethic: The Work of MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects which is authored by historian Robert McCarter. In addition to these monographs, the work of the firm has been featured in 100+ exhibitions internationally.

As a full professor of architecture and faculty member at Dalhousie University, Brian has contributed to architectural education in the region for 30 years. He has held numerous visiting professorships and endowed academic chairs at leading universities including: The Peter Behrens School of Architecture in Dusseldorf, University of Houston, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Michigan, University of Arkansas, University of Maryland, Texas A & M University, Auburn University, Tulane University, Syracuse University, Middlebury College, University of Oklahoma, McGill University, and Harvard University. Brian has held an international summer internship called Ghost on his farm since 1994. He has given over 180 public lectures on his work internationally. The firms work has been the subject of over 100 exhibitions internationally.

Houses designed in Atlantic Canada have made Brian a leading proponent of critical regionalist architecture worldwide. This recognition has led to a transition in the practice toward increased public and international commissions, involving increased complexity in both design and project delivery. MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Limited is one of the few Canadian firms to consistently receive international critical acclaim within the discipline today.
2188 Gottingen Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 3B4, Canada
P 902 429 1867



Visit: MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Ltd