Economy as ethic. For the Halifax-based firm MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple, this book illustrates more than an architectural approach. And for Brian McKay-Lyons in particular, ?it describes the underlying values that inform his teaching, his projects, and the way he lives. For him, architecture is about rigorous editing as a means of expressing the essence ?of a situation, the essential beauty. And it?s something to which we should all aspire.
I have been lucky to spend time with MacKay-Lyons in the remote, humbling landscape surrounding Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he lives and works. I have participated in his Ghost conferences and spent weekends ?in his Shobac Cabins, and I have travelled with him through other far-flung landscapes such as Mali?s Dogon region. For those who have never experienced Nova Scotia or the firm?s architecture, The Work of MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects: Economy as Ethic, the latest survey of his work with partner Talbot Sweetapple, provides a window into their world. For those like me, who have already peered into this world and experienced the work, this book offers a new perspective into their particular way of thinking. The Work of MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects: Economy as Ethic
The firm?s way of approaching architecture combines rationality and poetry?it is straightforward and coherent but speaks to larger issues of community and place. The simplicity of the book?s subtitle, ?economy as ethic,? belies the depth of consideration that inform...