MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Ltd
Occupancy: August 31, 2021
Construction Budget: withheld
This site was the summer fishing ground for the Mi’kmaq First Nation. In its current form, the village has been formed over more than 25 years. It began as a design/build laboratory, and has continued to evolve hosting community events, a living school, and an office research laboratory. The resulting village is an expression of utopian ambitions, an optimistic act of will, and a form of resistance in the face of the numbing cultural influence of globalization. It is an argument for landscape stewardship through agricultural and architectural cultivation. This place expresses the unity of life, integrating practice and teaching, family and community.
Abridged Project Credits:
(see Architecture Canada publication out in Fall 2022 for more details)
Client - Marilyn MacKay-Lyons
Engineers - Michel Comeau, Renee MacKay-Lyons, Blackwell Engineers, Andrea Doncaster
Builders - Gordon MacLean, Phil Creaser, Gary Kilgour, Robert Schmeisser, Art Baxter
PHOTO - Matt MacKay-Lyons
PHOTO - Doublespace Photography
PHOTO - MLSA
PHOTO - James Brittian Photography
PHOTO - Matt MacKay-Lyons
PHOTO - Doublespace Photography
The jury applauded this life-time architectural achievement, showing the transformational power of architecture on a site. The quality of the individual buildings adds up to more than the sum of its parts and emphasizes the village quality of the over 25-year project. It was also the educational dimension of the project that drew the attention of the jury.
2022 Jury