Brian MacKay-Lyons
Hon. FAIA, FRAIC
Founding Principal
MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
May 15, 2024, Wednesday, 7 pm
The Frank Welch Memorial Lecture
Horchow Auditorium, DMA
Check-in & Reception – 6:15 pm
Free for Forum Members
General Admission Tickets Available At the Door
The Dallas Architecture Forum, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing public education about architecture, design, public space and the urban environment, completes its 2023-2024 Lecture Series on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at 7:00 pm. The Forum is pleased to present world-renowned architect Brian MacKay-Lyons as the speaker for this Season’s Seventh Annual Frank Welch Memorial Lecture. This Lecture will be held in the Horchow Auditorium of the Dallas Museum of Art. Forum members may attend for free. Tickets for non-members will be available at the door – $5 for Students (with student i.d.), $25 General Admission. Check-in and pre-Lecture Reception will begin at 6:15 pm in the Hamon Atrium of the DMA.
Brian MacKay-Lyons, FRAIC, RCA, Hon. FAIA, Hon. FRIBA, founded his firm, now known as MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Limited, in 1985. The practice works locally and internationally on residential, cultural, and academic projects. Among its many award-winning designs are Queens’s Marque, Smith House, and Mirror Point Cottage in Nova Scotia; Summit Horizon Neighborhood in Utah; and the Canadian Chancery in Australia, currently in process. While the studio’s body of work is known for its cultural responsiveness to local landscapes, climate, and material culture, it also consistently possesses an archetypal quality which touches a global audience.
Brian and the studio are recognized internationally for their design excellence with over 160 design awards, including the prestigious Global Award for Sustainable Architecture; seven AIA National Honor Awards; four Architectural Record House Awards; and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal, the top award in Canada for lifetime contribution in architecture. The practice was also awarded the RAIC Firm Award and eight Governor General’s Medals, the most prestigious Canadian award that celebrates outstanding design in recently built projects. Brian was also appointed to the Order of Canada for his contribution to Canadian culture. Brian was a full professor at Dalhousie University for 37 years, which will bestow an Honorary Doctorate on Brian this May. He has held 18 endowed academic posts at leading universities around the world. Brian and his firm partner Talbot Sweetwater were honored as laureates of the prestigious Global Award for Sustainable Architecture under the patronage of UNESCO. The work of the firm has been recognized internationally in 100+ exhibitions, 900+ publications, and nine monographs.
THE FRANK WELCH MEMORIAL LECTURE
The Dallas Architecture Forum established the Frank Welch Memorial Lecture to honor the legacy of Frank Welch, both as the Dean of Texas Modernist architects, and as the wonderful friend that Frank was to The Forum. Frank Welch was a long-time member of The Dallas Architecture Forum, and we were fortunate to have events at many of the residences that he designed. The highlight of each event was when Frank would give brief remarks about the project to the attendees. He was always gracious, insightful, and humble, and his presence made the event memorable for all who were there.
Frank Welch’s legacy will continue through his work, including his revered project The Birthday, which won a Texas Society of Architects’ 25-Year Ward in 1997. This seminal project inspired the design aesthetic of a new generation of Texas design professionals. The architects Frank mentored and the lives he touched are lasting tributes to his vision and humanity.
