Matthew Gschwind is a Designer with Michael Watkins Architect, LLC, an urban design and architecture firm dedicated to designing and implementing a walkable, lasting, and beautiful public realm that fosters community. The firm’s work includes the preparation of master plans for towns, neighborhoods, and hamlets, revitalization and extension plans for existing communities, preparation of design guidelines, various town architect services for new and existing communities, and leading and participating in urban design charrettes. The firm serves as the Town Architect for Norton Commons in Louisville, Ky., and other communities in Louisiana, South Carolina, Ohio, and elsewhere. The firm has collaborated with other New Urbanist firms, among them: Torti Gallas + Partners, Placemakers, Urban Design Associates, and the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community.

As an urban designer, Gschwind plays a role in the firm’s efforts in urban design and master planning. Gschwind plays a pivotal role in the production of the Master Plan project books. Gschwind also contributes to the production of civic space detail drawings, which specify the character of civic spaces within neighborhoods.

Gschwind also contributes to the firm’s code-writing and conceptual architecture efforts, including language-writing and the creation of illustrations for these codes.

In 2021, Gschwind earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where he graduated as undergraduate valedictorian of the School of Architecture. In addition to architecture, he also majored in Applied and Computational Mathematics with a minor in Resiliency and Sustainability of Engineering Systems. Through his studies at Notre Dame and his involvement with Students for New Urbanism, Gschwind developed a passion for urbanism, neighborhood and community resilience, and traditional architecture