MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and Denver, Colorado. The practice works locally and internationally on cultural, academic and residential projects, providing full architectural, urban design, and interior design services. There are four Principals: Brian MacKayLyons, Talbot Sweetapple, Melanie Hayne and Shane Andrews.

In over 30 years of work, the practice has built an international reputation for design excellence confirmed by over 130 awards, including the prestigious 2017 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. Brian was awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Gold Medal in 2015 and MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects received the RAIC Firm Award in 2014.

The firm has also won seven Governor General’s Medals in Architecture, three American Institute of Architects National and International Honor Awards of Architecture, thirteen Lieutenant Governor’s Medals of Excellence, eight Canadian Architect Awards, four Architectural Record Houses Awards, and ten North American Wood Design Awards.

Both Brian MacKay-Lyons and Talbot Sweetapple are Fellows of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC). Brian MacKay-Lyons is also a Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA). He was named Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon. FAIA) in 2001 and was made an International Fellow by the Royal Institute of British Architects (Int FRIBA) in 2016. In addition, the firm’s work has been featured internationally in over 500 publications and 100 exhibitions.

Both Brian MacKay-Lyons and Talbot Sweetapple are active in architectural education, Brian as a full professor and faculty member at Dalhousie University for 30 years, and Talbot, as an Adjunct Professor since 1997, and now a Professor of Practice as of 2013. Together, they have 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, and Harvard University. They have also given more than 220 public lectures on their work worldwide.