PROJECT B2 Lofts, Lunenburg UNESCO World Heritage Site, Nova Scotia
ARCHITECT MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
TEXT Donald Chong
PHOTOS Matthew MacKay-Lyons
Set on one of the main streets of Old Town Lunenburg, a pair of structures inflects heritage typologies with contemporary programs and details.
Located on lands previously inhabited by native Mi?kmaq and Acadians, Lunenburg is widely considered the continent?s best preserved planned British colonial settlement. It is best known for its brightly coloured mix of shingle-sided and gabled structures, climbing the steep hillside along the harbour.
These picture-perfect façades form a compact urban setting, built upon a 270-year-old working waterfront. In 1995, Old Town Lunenburg was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its living catalogue of architecture related to 18th- and 19th-century fishing, shipping and shipbuilding. An extraordinary number of its timber buildings were handcrafted by German and Swiss Protestant settlers, and have been scrupulously preserved. While known for being the birthplace of the Bluenose, Lunenburg?s advanced shipwright culture produced an array of businesses and accompanying buildings?from foundries to sailmakers, and from cooperages to blacksmiths. To this day, many of Lunenberg?s prime harbour locations continue to be used for the maritime industries, including a scallop fishery, a millwright?s shed, and a dory building shop (for the local cod-fishing boats originally deployed fro...