This is Part I of my tour of architect/professor Brian MacKay-Lyons' ocean-side properties on the South Shore near Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
Shobac Cottages, Lunenburg, NS. Photo via shobac.mlsarchitects.ca
First, a shameful admission: before CJ of foodnetwork.ca and I embarked on our whirlwind tour of the east coast of Canada, I knew nothing of it. I've always nursed a romantic idea of how it would look and feel, but never had I thought to see for myself, having always looked off continent for exotic adventures (like many Ontarians.)
Word of advice: it really makes for a richer, more engaging experience if you read a bit about the place you are going to visit. I blame work and kids, but to little avail as the end result was still my total ignorance of, among many things, a Nova Scotian architect, professor and prominent figure, Brian MacKay-Lyons.
Brian MacKay-Lyons on the porch of the studio, at Shobac.
Upon my request to stay somewhere "modern and architecturally interesting", savvy Pam Wamback of Tourism Nova Scotia suggested Shobac Cottages, near Lunenburg. She pressed me to contact the owners, Brian and Marylin MacKay-Lyons, for a pre-chat, but I had blogging to do, and drove the 1 hour and 45 minutes from Halifax to Lunenburg blind, not knowing at all what to expect. (I arrived at night, in complete darkness, with only the fog horn to guide me to the shore.)
It turns out that I found myself in the private audience of one of Canada's most published and well known architects (possibly even better known to Americans), whose firm MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects has garnered over 75 awards -- among them 5 Governor General's Medals and the American Institute of Architects Honor Award (the Grammy, not the Juno, as some put it) -- and has been featured in over 200 publications and over 80 exhibitions.
Shobac Cottages, Lunenburg, NS. Photo via shobac.mlsarchitects.ca
There I sat cross-legged on his studio floor, eating cheese and crackers prepared by his neurophysiolo-genius wife, Marylin -- also a professor -- drinking wine, and texting my architect friends to boast of my good fortune.
In my defense, I am not so much in the architects' milieu. I like throw pillows, wallpaper and side tables, and shopping at Value Village. But like a truffle pig I can instinctively sniff out the extraordinary. When I awoke in one of four Shobac cottages on the majestic, craggy shore of Southern Nova Scotia, I knew instantly I had been granted a glimpse of something rarefied.
Troop family barn, c. 1880 as reconstructed on the Shobac site; Troop barn in mid reconstruction, during a GHOST Lab event.
Shobac cottages (named after Christian Shoubach to whom the original land grant was made) sit on the site of one of the earliest Acadian settlements (c. early 1600's) in Canada. On this historic land, which Brian has been clearing and grooming for over 20 years while living in an early 19th C. farm complex set away from the shore, he erected four identical cottages (one cottage is equipped for persons with disabilities), a large studio and reconstructed a 19th C. octagonal barn. Aside from discerning archi-cottaging and private events, in the summer months the modern complex hosts Brian's GHOST Lab, a two-week design/build internship for students, professionals and novices, which has resulted in most of the habitable and semi-habitable structures on the property.
I could try and relay for you what I learned about Brian's 'vernacular' and how he strives to explore the relationship between land and edifice, but I am scarcely qualified to do so. What I can say, before I finally let you at the extensive gallery that I have annotated below, is that the MacKay-Lyons know how to live. They've set themselves up on a slice of majestic terrain that'll keep their intellects and imaginations busy until they can no longer think, molding, transforming, building and challenging our stubborn love of shabby Victorians and barely-Edwardians (if there is one unified message to glean from Shobac it is this: there is another way.)
At the end of my private 3-hour tour of what can only be described as Brian's architectural reservation, I asked him how long we the public can expect to have access to this extraordinary site. He smiled and said, "...well, I plan to keep it a rental property. For now."
So many gorgeous places to see...so little money...and time.
Gallery
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Part II of the tour to showcase some of the other ocean-side residences designed by Brian MacKay-Lyons, as well as the 19th C. farm complex where the MacKay-Lyons raised their family. Stay tuned!
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