A man with a shaved head and trimmed beard wears a brown suit jacket and light blue shirt, standing beside a wooden chair. He rests one hand on the chair, with framed art and stacked books in the background.

Carl Carfi

Principal

“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 was named a Studio Director in the summer of 2023. Carl has been involved in a number of the firm’s projects, most recently managing the design and construction of houses in Montecito, California; Seal Harbor, Maine; Nashville, Tennessee; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Southampton on Long Island. 

Carl lives with his wife in Summit, New Jersey.

Smiling woman with glasses and shoulder-length blonde hair, wearing a black top, sits at a desk with architectural plans. She is in a bright office with a large window and white walls. One hand rests on the plans, and a rolled-up sheet is on the desk.

Laura A. B. Welsh

Principal

“I love engaging with individual clients at every stage of a project, considering how they will live and be comfortable in a space.”

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 was named a Studio Director in the summer of 2023 and is also the firm’s Human Resources Coordinator.

In addition to her role in leadership at the firm, Laura’s recent projects include a number of New York City apartment and townhouse renovations, as well as restorations and new houses in Kennebunk, Maine; San Francisco, California; and Southampton, New York. 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.