MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
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In Focus: Comtemporary Shingled Cottages

In New Brunswick, MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Designs an Off-Grid Cottage for a Nonagenarian Client

New Brunswick

September 11, 2025

The hip-roofed pavilion claims a pair of disparate influences: rural Scottish shepherd huts and Charles Moore’s own Bay Area residence built in 1962.

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Make Their Mark on Halifax's Waterfront

Nova Scotia

Leopoldo Villardi

March 1, 2023

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Known for rural houses, the Nova Scotia–based firm redefines urbanism in its downtown backyard.

DESIGN:ED Podcast: Brian MacKay-Lyons

RECORD Editors

July 27, 2022

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Brian MacKay-Lyons joins the podcast to discuss the design process behind the Burge Residence, how architecture relates to place and form, and the return of the Ghost Residency to his Nova Scotia farm.

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple's Essay in Weathering Steel

Pilar Viladas

July 19, 2022

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A weathering-steel residence in central Nova Scotia by the Halifax-based firm fits in with the landscape.

Bigwin Island Golf Resort by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects

Canada

Wendy Moonan

October 7, 2019

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On a forested site on Lake of Bays, north of Toronto, 40 picturesque cabins embrace a modern vernacular.

Mirror Point Cottage by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects

Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

Josephine Minutillo

April 1, 2016

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A seasonal house in Canada’s Maritimes takes inspiration from local fishermen’s cabins.

Chebogue Schoolhouse

August 16, 2014

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Site size: 60 acres Project size: 1,400 square feet Program: When architect Brian MacKay-Lyons heard that a 180-year-old schoolhouse from his childhood hometown in Nova Scotia was in dire condition, he intervened. The architect and his wife, Marilyn, decided to purchase the schoolhouse and convert it into a charming winter home for their family. Location: Mackay-Lyons, principal at MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, dismantled and transported the schoolhouse from its original site in the middle of a pasture in Chebogue, Nova Scotia to the architect's farm in Kingsburg, nearly 200 miles away. In its new location, the schoolhouse is part of a

Cliff House

On a rocky outcropping along Nova Scotia's scenic atlantic coast, Mackay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects creates a house inspired by the local vernacular.

Asad Syrkett

October 16, 2013

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“On the first day on the project, we decided to fly it off a cliff,” says Brian MacKay-Lyons, describing the simple wood and steel–frame residence his firm designed.

Two Hulls House

Between the Sea and the Sky: Evoking maritime images and experiences from the architects' past, a house for a young family reaches out to the water.

Clifford A. Pearson

April 16, 2012

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Most architects say they start each project with a blank slate.

Shobac Cottages and Studio

Shobac Cottages and Studio form a protourban setting on a craggy Nova Scotia coast.

Suzanne Stephens

January 19, 2009

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The place seems to be at the edge of the world, where an expansive sky, shimmering water, and a hilly landscape dotted with spruce and pines are only interrupted by rustic cottages and barns.