Here Lyons Roar (Actually He'll Just Talk Politely and Show Slides)

On Wednesday evening, Portland State University is hosting a lecture by Canadian architect Brian MacKay-Lyons. Over the last two decades, MacKay-Lyons has built a stellar reputation for creating architecture that utilizes local materials, particularly wood, to craft modern structures built into the landscape that interpret the traditional architecture of Nova Scotia.

According to PSU professor Clive Knights, MacKay-Lyons excels at “the attention given to place response… and the ability to elevate modest means into dramatic spatial experience.”

Knights also forwarded me some quotes by famous architects about MacKay-Lyons, including this one by Pritzker Prize winner Glenn Murcutt:

"The architecture of Brian MacKay-Lyons shows clarity in planning, resulting in forms that are direct, simple, and elegant. The buildings are beautifully sited and crafted. This is an honest, no-nonsense architecture that avoids the fashions of the day. It exhibits that rare quality - authenticity."

The lecture is at 7pm this Wednesday in Lincoln Hall, room 175, and free.

Oh, and don't forget there's also a lecture on Thursday, February 1 by Charles Rose, the Boston architect whose firm is designing an expansion for the Oregon College of Art & Craft. It's scheduled for 6:30pm at The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Avenue, with a $5 suggested donation.

Comments

[Clive Knights]

PSU Bookstore will be selling copies of the latest monograph titled 'Plain Modern: The Architecture of Brian MacKay-Lyons" in Lincoln Hall lobby before and after the lecture. The work is beautifully photographed and accompanied by illuminating commentary from Malcolm Quantrill.