Gabellini Sheppard

Taking inspiration from contemporary art as well as nature and ancient architecture, he creates focused environments that operate as sophisticated backdrops to what is contained within them. As founder and creative director of the firm, Michael has developed ambitious residential, retail, cultural, and urban design projects, imparting a distinct identity to each. His residential and furniture designs, as well as hotel and resort developments, are conceived as spatial portraits reflecting the lifestyles and needs of his clients. 

An innovator in Spatial Branding, the firm's signature approach to creating high-performance spaces uniquely suited to the brands it helps to develop, Michael has designed boutiques, showrooms, restaurants, and large-scale retail centers for prominent fashion icons and commercial clients worldwide. His expertise and passion for contemporary art have earned commissions from numerous galleries and museums, while his respect for and knowledge of architectural history are manifest in the preservation and adaptive reuse of important landmarks including New York’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and registered architect in New York, Florida and Nevada, Michael earned his Architecture and Art degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design. His thoughtful, award-winning designs have earned the Progressive Architecture Award, the National Design Award in Interior Design from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, a place in the Interior Design Hall of Fame, and dozens of awards from professional organizations. He lectures at numerous academic institutions and special events in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Sheppard, an architect and designer, began collaborating with Michael Gabellini in 1994, inspired by her years of living and working in Milan and other design-rich cities of Europe. Since becoming a partner in 1998, she has expanded the firm’s capabilities across residential, hospitality, retail, public, and exhibition platforms. Sheppard initiates and develops integrated design concepts to heighten both the sensory and functional experience of architectural environments. From inception to implementation, her holistic approach to design reveals a spatial dexterity across all scales of investigation, from a custom light fixture to a commercial master plan. In restoring and renovating historic properties from a contemporary point of view, she establishes an architectural dialogue between old and new, exploring sustainable building through design regeneration.

Sheppard has designed numerous signature environments and branding concepts for clients worldwide. She has directed the firm’s design of luxury condominium and hotel interiors including The Edition in Istanbul and the Knickerbocker Hotel, set within a historic National Landmark building in New York. She is an accomplished designer of cultural and civic spaces such as Top of the Rock and the redeveloped Rainbow Room at New York’s iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza—reflecting her ability to preserve architectural landmarks while pursuing latent possibilities within the redevelopment and design process. In addition, Sheppard has designed distinguished boutiques and showrooms for brands such as Jil Sander, Nicole Farhi, Gianfranco Ferré, Salvatore Ferragamo, David Yurman, and Elena Miro; and large-scale retail environments for The Village at Westfield London, the Mall of America in Minneapolis (renovation and expansion), and the Giorgio Armani Center in Milan. 

Sheppard is a registered architect in the states of New York and Nevada. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, she earned her Architecture and Fine Arts degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design, and has served as adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design. Prior to collaborating with Gabellini, she worked with Laboratorio Associati, where she was project architect for the Halkin Hotel in historic Belgravia, London. She also contributed to the design and implementation of a variety of fashion boutiques across Europe, Asia, and North America, including Gianni Versace flagships set within historic Beaux-Arts buildings in London and New York.

Architect Bobby Young’s attention to detail enables him to manage projects effectively from concept development to construction administration, providing leadership and overseeing quality control for the firm. Since joining the firm in 2007 and being promoted to Associate in 2013, Partner in 2022, he has led the development of numerous high-end residential, retail, residential, and mixed-use projects. Young has served as project manager for the Echelon Resort & Casino Grand Lobby in Las Vegas; a sales center for the UN Plaza Tower; and a private luxury residence in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Young also managed the firm’s full renovation and façade preservation of a seven-story townhouse residence in Manhattan as well as a renovation of the full floor of a prominent Central Park South residence. He also led the effort to design and renovate an office headquarters in a landmarked building on 51st street in New York as well as an ultra-luxury office development in Miami and a prominent historic building in Lower Manhattan. Young graduated from Pratt Institute and is a registered architect in the State of New York.

Silvia Maffei provides profound support to the studio in the form of strong conceptual thinking in the design of spatial brand strategy. Since joining the firm in 2010 and being promoted to Associate in 2016, Partner in 2022, Maffei has developed projects for J Brand, La Perla, Brioni, and Elena Mirò flagship boutiques in Italy and Moscow. Maffei served as the lead designer for the Beijing flagship store of the Chinese luxury cashmere label 1436, as well as designed the retail portion of the NBC Universal Lobby & Guest Experience at Rockefeller Center. Additionally, Maffei has managed construction administration, serving as project designer for the lobby and public spaces of the Álvaro Siza-designed condominium in New York and a mixed-use development in collaboration with Bjarke Ingels Group. She’s currently designing the public amenity spaces for a luxury hotel within a landmarked Dallas building and public amenities and lobby for a prominent West Palm Beach condominium development.

Maffei earned her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Florence, Masters in Interior Design from Parsons School of Design, and a Ph.D in Civil Engineering from the University of Pisa. She is a licensed architect in Italy.

Architect Colin Martin brings leadership to the studio’s residential, retail, and hospitality projects. Since joining Gabellini Sheppard Associates in 2004 and being promoted to Associate in 2013, Partner in 2022 Martin has brought to fruition the interiors of multiple luxury residences and condominium developments (including collaborations with architects Alvaro Siza and Tadao Ando). Colin is a gifted designer of architectural space and brings a depth of experience to adaptive reuse and historic building projects as well as new construction developments. He has recently completed a ground-up residential project in Aspen and is currently working on multiple residences on Long Island. His retail portfolio includes work with Westfield, General Growth Properties now Brookfield Properties, Saks Fifth Avenue in addition to luxury retail boutiques. Some of his hospitality credits include The Edition hotel in Istanbul and The Row NYC Hotel. Martin is currently leading the design of a new, ultra-luxury condominium development in Los Angeles. He earned his Masters of Architecture from Tulane University and is a licensed architect in the state of New York.