NICO WALLACE - Firm Owner + Design Principal. CA Licensed Architect, AIA. Nico has over 10 years of experience in architecture and interior design. Prior to joining MDS in 2010, she received her B.S. in Science, Technology, and International Affairs from Georgetown University, researched climate science at Pontificia Catolica Universidade in Rio de Janeiro, studied negotiation strategies at University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and received her Master of Architecture from Woodbury University in San Diego. Her work has been published in the Luxe Magazine Gold List for Interior Design. Nico assumed firm ownership in 2021, taking on the mantle of the firm her parents founded twenty years earlier. Nico is adjunct faculty at NewSchool of Architecture & Design, Woodbury University and University of San Diego.
LAUREN WILLIAMS - Design Principal + CA & USVI Licensed Architect, AIA. Lauren has over 20 years of experience in both architecture and interior design. Prior to joining MDS in 2005, she worked with Dahlin Group designing multi-family residential projects in San Diego. Before that she worked with renowned architectural designer Wallace Cunningham on highly sculptural custom homes. Her first job after receiving her Bachelor’s Degree from Texas Tech University was with Baker+Hogan+Houx, a multi-family and custom residential firm in Breckenridge, Colorado. Her work has been featured in many print articles and she is on the Luxe Magazine Gold List, and was recently featured in Modern Luxury Magazine.
FRED GEMMELL - Firm Founder + Design Principal. Fred has over 40 years of experience in architecture, interior design, custom furniture design, and art. His knowledge of fine materials, engineering, cabinet building, and construction practices is unsurpassed. He is a highly-recognized member of the San Diego design and art community, celebrated in print and is on the Luxe Magazine Gold List. Fred is also an accomplished artist.
HOLLY HOWELL - Firm Founder + Design Principal. Holly has over 30 years working in the design field. Her expertise includes fine art and photography from her time as Gallery Director for The Photography Gallery in La Jolla. She has extensive experience with interior design and furnishings being the principal interior designer for Matrix Design Studio for our custom residential projects.
MARCOS VANORDEN DE ASSIS - CA + NY Licensed Architect, AIA. Marcos has over 30 years of experience practicing architecture. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, he attended the Bennett Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, where he graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. He practiced architecture in Brazil working for Afonso Kuenerz Arquitetura and then as the head of the Architecture Department for the SYDA Foundation in India where he worked internationally on a variety of projects. In 2004 he relocated to San Diego and joined Hayer Architecture, where he worked for fourteen years on high end residential projects, often in collaboration with MDS, prior to joining MDS in 2018.
MARK CHIEN - CA Licensed Architect, AIA. Mark is a 2015 cum laude graduate of Woodbury University and a lifetime member of Tau Sigma Delta, the national honor society for architecture and allied art. Upon completing his academic studies, Mark worked as an architectural associate at Safdie Rabines Architects for four years before focusing on licensure. In 2021, Mark joined Matrix Design Studio soon after he became a licensed architect in the State of California.