Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Interview with Jerry Spangler

Jerry Spangler, Director of TSW’s Architecture Studio, recently talked with the Atlanta Business Chronicle about his passion for church design and the recently completed ChristChurch Presbyterian project.

Click here for the article and below are recent images of ChristChurch Presbyterian.

Jerry Spangler, a founding principal at Midtown architectural firm TSW, has made designing churches something of a specialty over the years. While his affinity for architecture goes back to his pre-teen years in eastern Tennessee, Spangler’s appreciation of church building grew over the decades as he got married, began raising a family, and became a regular churchgoer. Spangler said most young architects are looking for firms that have a variety of design types, but he prefers mid-sized firms like TSW, which specializes in mixed-use development projects that embrace the principles of New Urbanism and make Atlanta a more walkable city. TSW takes on a variety of projects that give young people an opportunity to work in areas of architecture that in a big firm would take quite a while longer.

Spangler said designing a church is like designing a very big custom home, and it depends on the church. TSW designs churches of all styles, depending on the church, such as heavy timber for Birmingham United Methodist Church in the horse country of Milton or a courtyard entry, contemporary building for Woodstock Community Church. The latest project was working with lead architect Gertler & Wente Architects LLP of New York to design the new modern ChristChurch Presbyterian sanctuary at 25th and Peachtree streets. ChristChurch Presbyterian is a dynamic, young congregation with a strong mission of reaching out to the community. The architects delivered a hybrid renovation/repurposing project. Half of the 50,000 square feet consists of a traditional renovation, and the repurposed half features an art museum and coffee house. Using a good portion of the existing building was cost-effective for the church and achieved something more important. It was part and parcel of the stewardship they wanted, Spangler said.