LECTURE: MacKay-Lyons Applewhite / Brian MacKay-Lyons (William F. Stern Visiting Professor)

Brian MacKay-Lyons was born and raised in the village of Arcadia in Nova Scotia, on the East coast of Canada. Brian received his Bachelor of Architecture from the Technical University of Nova Scotia in 1978 and his Master of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of California Los Angeles, in the United States.

He has developed a leading global practice from Nova Scotia that has been honoured with one hundred and thirty-six design awards, including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Gold Medal in 2015 and the RAIC Firm Award in 2014; seven Governor General Medals; three American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Honor Awards of Architecture and two AIA Housing Design Awards; thirteen Lieutenant Governor’s Medals of Excellence; eight Canadian Architect Awards; four Architectural Record Houses Awards; and ten Wood Design & Building Awards.

A fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC), and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA), Brian MacKay?Lyons was named Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon. FAIA) in 2001 and in 2016 was made an International Fellow by the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in London. Brian has been a full professor and faculty member at Dalhousie University for 30+ years, and has held 18 endowed academic chairs and visiting professorships at leading universities worldwide, such as: The Peter Behrens School of Architecture, Washington University in St. Louis, Harvard University, and University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design.

Twenty years after founding the firm Brian MacKay-Lyons Architecture Urban Design, Brian partnered with Talbot Sweetapple to form MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Limited. In 2017, Brian and Talbot were honoured as laureates of the prestigious Global Award for Sustainable Architecture by the Cite de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris, under the patronage of UNESCO. The work of the firm has been recognized in 530+ publications including six monographs, and has been featured in 100+ exhibitions internationally.

Reception to follow in the UHCOAD Atrium.