MATTHEW WINKELSTEIN
design sampling 1990 - current

After decades immersed in large, complex architectural projects, I’m now drawn to work that is more local in scale yet deeply connected in spirit - projects that build community and cultivate creativity as a act of honoring and service.

Together with my wife, metalsmith and designer Deb Durant, I’m exploring new ventures that bridge architecture, art, craft, and social impact.

CONTACT
(415) 690-5315
matt.winkelstein@gmail.com
winkelsteindesign.com

I was raised at the edge of San Francisco, near rocky cliffs, beaches and an immense and lovely burnt orange colored bridge. In this place, a wild and rugged coastline borders the endless diversity and colorful communities of dense urban life. For me, the duality of living where the human-made is so dramatically and beautifully juxtaposed with the natural was formative. 

The son of an architect-musician father and community builder-artist mother, from my earliest years I’ve loved to draw and paint, to make objects and design things. It is perhaps not surprising I chose, like my father, to become an architect.

I have thirty-five years of professional experience leading design teams on projects across multiple scales and building types - housing, cultural, civic, aviation and urban design, in the U.S. and abroad. I am a licensed architect in California, a member of the San Francisco AIA Committee on the Environment, and USGBC LEED Accredited Professional. 

My roots are deep in the Bay Area where I have worked in a number of noted design firms, and in Italy, where I have lived and worked, and where Deb and I were married.

I believe that art and design have the power to support and elevate human experience and well-being, while honoring our shared responsibility to the planet. I see design as an open, evolving process - one that depends on dialogue, shared imagination, and trust. The most meaningful projects arise when diverse voices come together early and stay engaged, allowing ideas to deepen through collaboration and a genuine responsiveness to place, purpose, and people. For me, the design journey is a process of discovery that aspires to create places of connection, beauty, and belonging.