Louis Taylor
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION, PARTNER
“It’s incredibly fulfilling to see the kind of beautiful, detailed work our team creates. That moment when you see a home completed—there’s nothing like it.”
DIRECTOR of Finance and Administration and Firm Principal Louis Taylor graduated from the University of Delaware with dual degrees in Business Administration Management, and Finance and received his Master’s of Business Administration from the Rutgers University Business School. Before joining GPSA in 2010, he worked at a major public accounting firm. It was GPSA’s artistic environment that first drew him to the firm. “Architects and design-focused people are truly passionate about their work, making our office an inspiring place to be on a daily basis.” He was named a Partner of the firm in January 2017.
Involved in nearly every aspect of the business, Lou oversees the company’s finances and handles general planning and strategy, contracts, human resources, and facilities management. He lives in New Jersey with his family and is an avid golfer and runner.
Mickey Benson
STUDIO DIRECTOR, PRINCIPAL
“Our team shares an understanding of those basic but often neglected architectural principles- scale, proportion, and flow.”
STUDIO DIRECTOR and Firm Principal Mickey Benson can’t remember ever wanting to be anything but an architect. Before joining GPSA in 2006 as a Project Manager and then moving up to the role of Studio Director in 2012, he worked at a number of distinguished architecture firms in the Northeast. In January 2017, he was named a Principal of the firm. Mickey received his Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, and practiced in Boston for four years before moving to New York. In Boston, he was a finalist for the Rotch Traveling Scholarship, a prestigious annual architectural design competition.
In his role as Studio Director and Principal, Mickey oversees nearly every aspect of a project, handling details and communication long before anything leaves the drafting table. He’s led the renovation and building of new homes all over the country, from Nashville to New York City, California to Coastal Maine. He lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and in his spare time enjoys rebuilding vintage motorcycles and playing guitar.
Mickey is a licensed architect in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB).
Carl Carfi
ASSOCIATE
“I enjoy the entire process of creating a home. It’s very rewarding to see the evolution from the initial design concept to the final product, and have the client walk into the house and experience all of the details you’ve been so passionate about and focused on.”
Carl Carfi has long had passion for residential architecture. While he was a student at Fordham University, he spent summers interning at a prestigious Connecticut architecture firm. Following his graduation from Fordham with his Bachelor of Arts degree in Pre-Architecture, he immediately enrolled in the New Jersey Institute of Technology for his Master of Architecture, where he received a Comprehensive Studio Design Award for his design of a sustainable winery for a local New Jersey farm.
After graduating with his Master’s, Carl joined Mark P. Finlay Architects in Connecticut full time, where he worked on a number of historic renovations and rehabilitations including the Aloha Boathouse in Newport, Rhode Island which received the 2013 Doris Duke Preservation Award and the 2014 AtHome Magazine A-List Renovation Award.
Carl joined GPSA in the spring of 2015 as a Project Manager and was promoted to Associate in January of 2019. He has been involved in a number of projects, including the design of a new home and guest cottages on Block Island, Rhode Island, as well as the renovation of a 1908 home in San Francisco’s Presidio Heights neighborhood and the restoration of a historical house in Litchfield County, Connecticut.
Carl lives with his wife in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Matt Enquist
ASSOCIATE
“I love seeing how each new project is informed by our clients’ lives and the history of the place we’re building in. It’s through listening and learning that we discover what really makes a place a ‘home.’”
For Associate Matt Enquist one of the most satisfying parts of practicing architecture is working with individual clients and learning about the history of each property and place.
Matt knew at an early age that he wanted to be an architect after being exposed to the field by his uncle, who is an architect and urban planner, and father, who studied engineering. He grew up outside of Seattle and attended the University of Notre Dame where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Architecture, before moving to New York to start this career. After graduation, Matt spent more than a decade working at Ferguson & Shamamian Architects in New York before joining GPSA as a Project Manager in 2016, eventually being promoted to Associate and Senior Project Manager in 2021.
As a senior member of GPSA’s staff, Matt is involved in all aspects of a project — from design through construction — and is responsible for overseeing his individual project teams. And as a member of the firm’s Leadership Team, Matt along with his fellow Associates is also involved in the day-to-day management of the office. He compares his role to being the client’s quarterback. “There is nothing I enjoy more than creative problem solving. The architect is your point person for taking the client’s vision and making it a reality.”
Matt is a registered architect in New York, a member of the American Institute of Architects, and he is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). He actively participates in the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art where he is a Fellow, serves on the Book Committee, and has taught several classes.
Matt lives with his family in Westchester, and in his free time, he and his wife can be found working on their 1930s home and ever-evolving garden.
Chris Taylor
ASSOCIATE
“We are dedicated to running our business in the most efficient and effective way possible so that our clients, our vendors, and anyone we work with, can focus on what really matters — creating a meaningful, beautiful place to live.”
After graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in Finance from Rutgers-New Brunswick, Associate Chris Taylor began his career at Granet & Associates, a business management consulting agency for architecture and design firms. It was in this role that he first met Gil and after initially working at GPSA as a consultant, he was hired full-time within a year.
More than a decade later, Chris is heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the firm in a role that entails everything from accounting and budgeting to project staffing and client purchasing. And yet for all of the juggling, he reiterates that his first priority, like everyone’s at GPSA, is the client. “If our business runs smoothly internally, it ensures that the clients can get the level of service they deserve, and ultimately that their projects run just as smoothly. That’s our goal.”
An avid golfer, Chris lives in New Jersey, and when he’s not at the office, he loves to travel, attend live concerts, and spend time outdoors.
Laura A. B. Welsh
ASSOCIATE
“I love engaging with individual clients at every stage of a project, considering how they will live and be comfortable in a space.”
Associate Laura A. B. Welsh’s love of classical design has long been the driving force behind her passion for architecture. Laura joined GPSA in 2011 after working at several prestigious firms in Pennsylvania and New York on projects around the country, including Los Angeles, Southampton, and Louisville. She graduated with her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame where she was also on the Dean’s List.
Laura’s recent projects at the firm include the complete renovation of an apartment on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park in Manhattan, the restoration of an 1880’s Queen Anne-style summer home in Kennebunk, Maine, and the restoration of a Classical Revival house in San Francisco. In the past few years, her work has appeared in a number of books, including A Pattern Book for Gulf Coast Neighborhoods, A Decade of Art & Architecture 1992–2002, and Building Cities: Toward a Civil Society & Sustainable Environment.
Laura lives in New York City, with her husband, also an architect who works in restoration.