COLLINGWOOD CORNER, NS
MACKAY-LYONS SWEETAPPLE ARCHITECTS
“All good things are wild and free.”
- Henry David Thoreau
Golf, skiing, and seasonal recreation developments typically include a serious trail system and often are described as a nature corridor or wildlife corridor. These corridors overlap with wildlife movement and can connect residential lots, community areas, and recreational zones. The trails can accommodate walking, biking, golf carts, cross country skiing and snowmobiling in winter.
Wildlife corridors maintain habitat continuity. Animals move along routes between feeding, nesting, and breeding areas. Aligning trails with these corridors protects natural movement patterns and reduces road accidents.
Corridors reduce edge effects, support biodiversity, and help control erosion and water flow. Trees, meadows, and natural buffers along trails provide shade, stormwater filtration, and sound reduction. For residents, connection to nature supports walking and biking.
Clubhouse
The clubhouse for the River Philip Golf Course will be a modest yet dignified structure, deeply rooted in the agrarian landscape of Collingwood Corner. Set on a gentle rise along a bend of the River Philip—a small, meandering waterway known for its trout and salmon—the clubhouse will have panoramic views to the south west across a pastoral landscape of rolling hills and blueberry fields. The surrounding terrain is characterized by its quiet rural beauty, with working farmland and low wooded slopes providing a natural backdrop.
The design will express the region’s architectural vernacular interpretation of local barns and outbuildings. Materiality, siting, and massing will reference the area’s agricultural heritage. The clubhouse will appear as though it has always belonged to the land—simple in form, restrained in detail, and comfortable.
The facility will support both the operational and social functions of the golf course and community, accommodating daily play as well as tournaments, weddings, retreats, and informal gatherings. It will prioritize accessibility, views, and comfort, with a focus on high-quality local materials, clear circulation, and a warm, unpretentious atmosphere.
Maintenance Facility
Located nearby but architecturally cohesive with the clubhouse, the golf course maintenance building will provide equipment storage, workshop facilities, and staff support spaces, laid out for operational efficiency and long-term adaptability.
Housing Development
The River Philip Housing Development comprises approximately 160 private dwellings, located on the south-facing slope above the River Philip Golf Course clubhouse. The development will establish a walkable, cohesive settlement that draws from the agrarian vernacular of the region and celebrates the dramatic south and west views toward the river, the course below, and the surrounding rolling hills and blueberry fields.
Integration with Greater Development
• Clubhouse Synergy:
The housing is visually and physically informed by the clubhouse. Road, material, and planting language will be coordinated to reinforce a sense of collective place.
• Maintenance & Operations:
Access for service vehicles, landscape maintenance, and golf operations will be discretely managed through rear or side lot connections.
• Common Open Spaces:
Pocket greens, river pavilion, trail systems shared look-offs, and unbuilt view corridors will be preserved throughout the site to enhance the public realm.
(excl. land)
Optional screened room or bunkroom Efficient footprint for smaller or interior lots
Features: Area: ~1,600–1,800 SF 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths
Target Price Range: $750,000 (excl. land)
• Reinforce a sense of place through vernacular massing, wood structure, and agrarian
• Organize the clubhouse program around a central great room that is both functional and flexible
• Use terraces, porches, and glazed openings to connect indoor spaces with the surrounding landscape
• Provide a clear separation between golf operations and social spaces while maintaining spatial continuity
• Design all facilities to meet or exceed Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Act requirements
• Integrate sustainable building systems and site-sensitive infrastructure
• Establish a cohesive architectural language between clubhouse and adjacent maintenance facilities
• Settlement Form:
The houses will form a clustered village or village roads set within the slope. Roadways, paths, and view corridors will follow the topography, preserving sightlines and encouraging pedestrian movement.
• Architectural Language: The built form will take cues from local barns, sheds, and saltbox houses. Roof pitches, porches, window proportions, and material palettes will reinforce this continuity.
• Landscape Approach: Native planting, dry-stack stone walls, gravel courts, and minimal grading will tie buildings to the land and preserve existing site character.
• View Optimization: Most lots will accommodate walk-out lower levels, maximizing exposure to light and long views.
• Cohesion: Houses will complement the design language of the clubhouse, maintenance facility, and other site structures through shared forms, finishes, and spatial relationships.
Prototype Summary
The housing program is based on three primary prototype sizes, with flexibility for internal variation. All prototypes are intended to be NetZero-Ready, with options for buyer customization within established design controls.
Program-Wide Elements
• View Preservation: Building heights and roof forms will be controlled to protect neighbouring views.
• Access & Circulation: All homes will be accessed via shared or private drives with logical connection to walking paths, cart access routes, and clubhouse amenities.
• Customisation Policy: Buyers may request custom layout changes within architectural guidelines. Strict covenants will govern allowable exterior modifications to ensure consistency and value protection.
• Servicing: TBD
• Lighting: Night-sky compliant exterior lighting will be standard across all homes.
• Sustainability Features (Baseline):
• Continuous insulation, highperformance glazing
• All-electric HVAC and domestic hot water
• Pre-wired for solar and EV charging
• Rainwater harvesting options
“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”
- Frank Lloyd Wright
