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 an 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.