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Brian MacKay-Lyons (BSc’73, BEDS’77, BArch’78), FRAIC, has been awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Gold Medal. The award is RAIC’s highest honour. It recognizes significant and lasting contributions to the field of architecture. The jury recognized MacKay-Lyons an “an authentic and original voice in the development of a contemporary expression of traditional regional architecture.”

MacKay-Lyons is a founding partner of Halifax-based MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects. His internationally-acclaimed buildings are grounded in the design and construction traditions of East Coast architecture. Best-known for houses, Mr. MacKay-Lyons has also designed university and commercial buildings. Projects include the Canadian Chancery and Official Residence in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Computer Science Building and the Architecture School at Dalhousie University in Halifax, and the Plaza building at Brock University in St. Catharines, ON. He is also a professor at Dalhousie University and the founder of Ghost Lab, an educational program that took place on his family farm during the summers of 1994 to 2011. His work has been recognized by more than 100 awards, 300 publications, and 100 exhibitions.

After studying and working around the world, Mr. MacKay-Lyons returned to Nova Scotia in 1983 to make a cultural contribution to Nova Scotia where his Acadian and Mi’kmaq ancestors have lived for centuries.

Read more in “Brian MacKay-Lyons wins 2015 RAIC Gold Medal,” on canadianarchitect.com.

Photo credit: Canadian Architect