Brian was born and raised in the village of Arcadia in Southwestern Nova Scotia. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from the Technical University of Nova Scotia in 1978 where he was awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Medal. He received his Master of Architecture and Urban Design at U.C.L.A., and was awarded the Dean’s Award for Design.
After studying in China, Japan, California and Italy working with Charles Moore, Barton Myers and Giancarlo De Carlo, Brian returned to Nova Scotia in 1983 to challenge the historic maritime ‘brain drain’ trend, and to make a cultural contribution to Nova Scotia where his Acadian ancestors have lived for nearly 400 years. In 1985 he founded the firm Brian MacKay-Lyons Architecture Urban Design in Halifax. Twenty years later, Brian partnered with Talbot Sweetapple to form MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Ltd. The firm has built an international reputation for Design Excellence confirmed by 68 awards including five Governor General Medals, The American Institute of Architects Honor Award, eleven Lieutenant Governor’s Medals of Excellence, six Canadian Architect Awards, two Record Houses Awards, and three Wood Design Awards. A fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC), and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA), Brian was named Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon FAIA) in 2001.
Brian’s work has been recognized by 175 monographs, books and journal publications internationally. A third monograph of Brian’s career written by architectural historian Malcolm Quantrill and published by Princeton Architectural Press in New York, Plain Modern: The Architecture of Brian MacKay-Lyons, was published in 2005 and is in its fourth printing. Brian is currently writing another book for Princeton Architectural Press, Willing Paradises, telling the story of the Ghost International Architectural Laboratory.
As a full professor of architecture at Dalhousie University, Brian has contributed to architectural education in the region for 25 years. He has held numerous endowed academic chairs and visiting professorships at leading universities including: The Peter Behrens School of Architecture in Düsseldorf, University of Houston, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Michigan, University of Arkansas, University of Maryland, Texas A & M University, Auburn University, Tulane University, Syracuse University, McGill University, and Harvard University. Brian holds an international internship called Ghost on his farm each summer. He has given over 170 public lectures on his work internationally. The firms work has been the subject of 80 exhibitions in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
Houses designed in Atlantic Canada have made Brian a leading proponent of regionalist architecture worldwide. This recognition has led to a transition in the practice toward increased public and international commissions, involving increased complexity in both design and project delivery. MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Limited is one of the very few Canadian firms to consistently receive international critical acclaim within the discipline today.