User:Tkmurray/sandbox

Education and Early Works

During his first year of his undergraduate education, he was compelled to quit, but was convinced to stay by his professor, Larry Richards. Following the completion of his first degree, he partnered with Larry Richards and Eric Fiss to form a practice called 'Networks'. He later pursued a Masters of Architecture and Urban Design from The University of California, Los Angeles, where he worked closely on Urban Design projects with Barton Myers and Charles Moore. During his graduate education he became a teachers assistant, which inspired him to eventually become a professor. Towards the end of his degree, he moved to Italy to work with Giancarlo De Carlo in Siena. He also studied and worked in ____, but following the completion of his degree, he moved back to Nova Scotia in 1983 and began to practice as an architect and teach full time at Dalhousie University. After finding difficulty in maintaining his architectural practice and teaching full time, MacKay-Lyons began to teach at the University part time, and continues to do so presently.

His early work consisted of small-scale residential projects across the coast of Nova Scotia. They form from a considered relationship to site, make use of simple forms, and showcase vernacular elements.

Arcadia, a small river village of about four hundred people, on Nova Scotia's south west edge. It has a dense history from generations of human settlements.

Practice and Later Work

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple

Talbot Sweetapple was a student of MacKay-Lyons while he was teaching at Dalhousie University. He began to work for MacKay-Lyons while he was a single practitioner, eventually becoming his partner in 2005. As a consequence, his firm Brian MacKay Lyons Architecture Urban Design became MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects. In 1990 they renovated an old gas station to use as an office on Gottingen (Falkland?) St in Halifax, and also built an additional four town homes on site to finance the project. Before their partnership, MacKay-Lyons was focused dominantly on small-scale, vernacular residential projects. To accommodate for Talbot and the consequential growth of the firm, they began to undertake urban, public projects, such as. The varying scale of these types of projects are continually linked through their consideration to  'landscape, climate and material culture as elements of place.'

 Residential and Urban Projects

MacKay-Lyons residential projects explore the traditional vernacular styles of Nova Scotia.

MacKay-Lyons described his houses as being 'rooted in culture, yet contemporary '.

Urban projects, such as the TURN Architecture School, 'folk-tech' style.

Houses are landscape viewing devices i.e. Two hulls house Nova Scotia, 2011

Ghost Lab

Ghost Lab was run by MacKay-Lyons between 1994 and 2011. It arose from MacKay-Lyons dissatisfaction with the lack of connection between theory and practice in architectural education. The lab consisted of a one month long design-build, that took place each year in July and ran for a total of 13 projects. Each lab was run in the back acres of MacKay-Lyon's summerhouse in Upper Kingsburg, Nova Scotia, on the ancient ruins of an Acadian village. Annually, a group of students, professors and architects were allowed to join the lab, and they divided their time equally between designing and building the structure. Each year centered around a different theme relevant to architectural discourse, such as Ghost 1, that discussed with symbolic form, or Ghost 2 addressing technology.

The use of the word 'Ghost' is used to convey a sense of travel across time. In the Maritime provinces of Canada, story telling is commonplace in daily life, and was also adopted by Lyons in his building practices. Each year, the project was centered around a different theme relevant to architectural discourse, and was continually related to the Acadian history of the ancient site they're built on.

- Structures built using recycled materials from neighboring saw mills

- Modest, traditional vernacular methods

- Sustainable

Design Philosophy and Inspiration

Growing up in Arcadia, MacKay-Lyons witnessed how the houses of generations of settlements were often tacked on to one another. He began to regard culture, history and architecture as being organic, and continually connected to the landscape. This contributes to his belief that his buildings belong to the history of architecture, rather than being of his own invention. MacKay-Lyons has stated that he is more interested in rediscovering something that has already been understood. He therefore draws inspiration from observing the context of a place, such as climate, land form or cultural history, and uses these qualities as a basis for design work. Additionally, in his essay Seven Stories of a Village Architect, the titles of the short stories are structures such as Boat, Shed, Barn and Barn. Growing up and witnessing the construction of these types of structures influenced MacKay-Lyons heavily in his practice and his idea of craft and the vernacular. Additionally, Acadia's first settlers were dominantly peasants, and a modest way of living was virtuous. MacKay-Lyons adapted this democratic ethic in his work, using simple forms and traditional vernacular styles. He is also dedicated to building at least one project a year with a budget under $100,000 to stay connected to his democratic ideals and vernacular methods. and that architecture must be accessible and affordable. This humble way of living is an inspiration for MacKay-Lyons designs, an appreciation for simplicity and buildings that are more silent but with more to say '. This also contributes his ideas about sustainability, stating that can be both cultural and technical. For MacKay-Lyons, cultural sustainability arises when local building practices and materials are used, which he does frequently in his work.  'Vernacular is what you do when you can't afford to get it wrong ' Sustainability

Simplicity

Sustainability that arises from the use of local building practices and materials

The first half of the design process is about researching the land, understanding. Good design derives from context, which is free. Democracy.

growing and cultivation, doing less with design and more with what is already existing

Understanding and deconstructing,  'Designing buildings that are more silent but with more to say '

 'Vernacular is what you do when you can't afford to get it wrong ' Sustainability

Economy as ethic, architecture must be accessible, culture derives from the poor

Design Inspirations

Arcadia

MacKay-Lyons draws heavily on the landscape and context, in addition to the traditional, vernacular design of Nova Scotian architecture. His works are anchored in a sense of place, as a consequence of his deep familiarity and appreciation for his ancestors Arcadian land. As a first step in design, he focuses on rediscovering and understanding the unique qualities of the land, citing what he refers to as the landscape journey, integrating landscape with interior in many residential projects.

Not inventing, discovering, listening

Boat, shed, barn

Selected Works

Notes

- MacKay-Lyons or just Lyons?

- Continues to do so presently?

- How often to cite?

- Check proper citations for quotes

- Too many quotes?

- Deleting work already in the edit? i.e. long quote

Design Inspirations/Philosophy?

- is this original research? i.e. in piecing sentences and ideas together

For Bibiliography; what citation style? Is bib just full list of all references used? Or just general research not directly referenced?

- Selected works?

Additional Reading:

- Architecture at a threshold

Plain modern