[Canada] Brian Mackay-Lyons

[jparchitectus]

Brian MacKay-Lyons
Architect, Professor, NSAA, FRAIC, RCA, (HON) FAIA
Architect Brian MacKay-Lyons practices in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His firm has focused on houses, public buildings and urban design commissions, which have accumulated to form an extensive and consistent body of work in the Maritimes. His modern regionalist architectural language combines the use of archetypal forms with local building practices that grow out of material culture. As a result, the work has both a local and international audience, as evidenced by the more than 100 publications. In addition, his buildings have received some 55 awards for design including five Governor General's Medals and four Canadian Architect Awards. A traveling exhibition of MacKay-Lyons work is presently touring the United States and Europe. Brian has lectured or taught at over 100 schools of architecture, including Dalhousie University, where he is a professor.

care of - University of Michigan (http://www.tcaup.umich.edu/facultystaff/visitingfaculty/mackaylyons.html)

[jparchitectus]

This house is one of a series of recent, related projects on the drumlin headlands of Nova Scotia’s south shore. As it names implies, the Hill House occupies the crown of a drumlin, from which it enjoys a 360 degree view over both the outer ocean and the inland agrarian landscape. Both the structures turn their plain ‘rumps’ outward against the wind; while their glazed ‘bites’ face one another across a courtyard sheltered by low concrete walls. A dynamic, pin wheeling relationship is established between the two structures, so that one focuses out to the landscape by ironically looking inward through the court, glancing past the other structure.

[jparchitectus]

The Kutcher House

The Kutcher House is a permanent residence for a family of five. The house is perched on a giant granite boulder outcrop, on a spectacular hilltop site overlooking the shipping lanes into Halifax Harbour. The sequence of arrival is indirect in order to heighten the anticipation of the dramatic landscape. One approaches the house up a narrow driveway at an oblique angle. Upon reaching the house, one passes through a gap in a 95' long by 12' high concrete wall to enter a coutryard created by the wall, shed, granite rock face and the house. From here one travels along a bent axis up a steel scissor stair from outside, up through an atrium finally arriving in the 'living pavilion'.

[jparchitectus]

The messanger house

This project represents an ongoing search for the quality of ‘plainness’ found in local vernacular platform frame
construction and forms (sheds, barns, etc.) To this end, the 2x6 framed envelope of the house is clad in eastern white
cedar shingles, corrugated Galvalume
roof, and aluminium windows - all detailed to produce a taut-skinned, or ‘shrink wrapped’ effect.

[jparchitectus]

Howard House

This house of approximately 2000 square feet, designed for a young family, is an example of an affordable metal box. It represents the findings from a particular avenue of design research. The house creates a 12'-0" wide, 110'-0" long wall in the landscape. Built on a four acre field surrounded by the sea on three sides, there is a domesticated fishing cove to the east, with wild, open sea to the west. To the south is the shore of the bay. The rough-and-ready wrapper of the house is in keeping with the 'dog-patch' setting. The exterior skin is standard, industrial, corrugated galvalume. A heavy, concrete stair bump is a protective gesture providing shelter from the prevailing westerly winds off the open sea.

[jparchitectus]

Another intersting thing about this architect is his "ghost lab". As a professor, Brian has his students design and construct these projects to gain experience in construction, detailing, and the craft of master building.

As you can see below he knows how to build :D

Ghost research lab is an educational initiative designed to promote the transfer of architectural knowledge through direct experience, project based learning taught in the master builder tradition, with an emphasis on issues of landscape, material culture and community.

[jparchitectus]

Ghost 2

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Ghost 3

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Ghost 4

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Ghost 5

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Ghost 6

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Ghost Lab - Information including past project portfolios in PDF form (http://architectureandplanning.dal.ca/architecture/visitors/ghost.shtml)

Home Page of Mr Mackay-Lyons (http://mlsarchitects.ca/)

Get out and buy this BOOK (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1568984774/qid=1125506575/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-1785999-5207315?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Selected projects (http://tunspress.architectureandplanning.dal.ca/books/bml_book.shtml)

Architecture Record Project Portfolio (http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0102MackayLyons.ASP)

[kubbinga]

My in-laws know the owner of 'House on the Nova Scotia Coast #22.' by MacKay-Lyons and have stayed at the guest house several times. That is a picture of it right above. They were always talking about this unique house of the friends. It wasn't until about a year later that I realised this was the place.

Thanks for the post.

[jparchitectus]

Well you should visit them and take a some shots for us to drool over :D

[imasayer]

This one reminds me of the Silo House by Roto Architects. It is about 50 mi. north of Yellowstone Park on the Yellowstone river in Paradise Valley. I have driven by a few times, and it just works so well in the site. Paradise valley is open prarie with the river running through, and mountians of 10, 000 feet on either side. Just gorgeous!

[imasayer]

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