Princeton Architectural Press
June 1, 2005
It's been our distinct pleasure over the past few years to publish monographs
on a select group of young architects and firms whose work represents the best
of contemporary design thinking while retaining a distinctive regional
sensibility. The Nova-Scotian architect Brian MacKay-Lyons fits neatly into this
distinguished list, which includes Marlon Blackwell in the Ozarks, Rick Joy in
the Southwest, and Miller/Hull in the Northwest.
Those familiar with Nova Scotia understand the austere beauty of this
Canadian landscape, with its wide open skies and rugged terrain pushing up
against the Atlantic. MacKay-Lyons's work responds to this unique topography and
to the vernacular building traditions that define its communities. His houses,
commercial buildings, and public projects combine regional forms with local
materials, technologies, and building practices to create works that are linked
to their environments right down to their DNA. Peaked gables, shed roofs, and
sliding doors are inspired by local barn types ; corrugated metal cladding comes
from the buildings used by the area's fishing industry ; structural wooden
frames are based on local ship-building traditions. These elements communicate a
sense of place that is sophisticated, accessible, and free of
sentimentality.
224 p., 25 x 19 cm
EAN 9781568984773
