Gentle Works is an Atlanta, Georgia-based design practice offering architecture, planning, and interior design services to clients who share our commitment to the pursuit of a humane and enduring built environment. We approach our work with optimism and curiosity, striving to design spaces which are not only beautiful, but sympathetic and responsive to the cultural, environmental, and economic conditions in which we find them. We take small and large projects alike, but in every case we seek to craft places that serve people, to enrich the experience of everyday life, to foster social connection and commerce, and to leave a built legacy flexible enough to respond to human needs and desires not yet considered.
Holden Spaht, AIA
Principal
Holden Spaht is co-founder and partner at Gentle Works. He is an architect and urban designer who has led award-winning projects of various types and scale throughout his 15-year career, from large area master plans to multi-building adaptive reuse projects to neighborhood restaurants. His work and interests span the disciplines of landscape, architecture, and interiors, with a special focus on adaptive reuse and food and beverage-based hospitality and retail environments. His design approach is informed by a sensitivity to physical, cultural, and historical context, and he is particularly skilled at bridging multiple scales in a project’s design resolution. He has a BA in History from the University of Georgia and Master’s degrees in both architecture and city and regional planning from Georgia Tech, where he now holds a teaching appointment.
holden@gentle.works
Emily Wirt, NCIDQ, LEED GA
Principal
Emily Wirt is co-founder and partner at Gentle Works. Her architecture and interior design work has traversed scales from furniture design to urban design and planning. She has experience in commercial, residential, food and beverage, healthcare, and higher education spaces. She strives to put equity and advocacy at the forefront of the design profession and continues to find ways to celebrate the identity and beauty of architectural space through her own practice and participation in her local AIA Equity in Architecture chapter, national conferences, and local outreach. Emily believes in an honest approach to progress through architecture, and she weaves a unique narrative for each project through its history, people, and context. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Interior Design from the University of Georgia and a Master of Architecture degree from Georgia Tech, where she now holds a teaching appointment.
emily@gentle.works