Gregory Gates | Principal

Greg Gates is the principal at Gregory Gates Architect (GGA) and received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati.  Greg is currently a Licensed Architect in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, New York and Connecticut.

Greg started his career at McCollow and Associates working as the Project Architect for the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden as well as Master Plan projects for the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere and others across the country. He then spent 10 years working as a Project Architect with Cornette-Violetta Architects honing his skills and Zoological design knowledge. Since forming GGA in 2015, Greg has served as the Client Leader for our work at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and works closely on a daily basis with the Zoo’s Facilities team on bringing the Zoo’s Habitats and Guest Services buildings off the page.  His 20 years of experience in Zoological Design working on a broad range of Animal Habitats as well as Facilities and Guest Services projects allows Greg to bring an extensive knowledge base to our Zoo Clients and their varying project scopes.  This knowledge base allows him to offer real world solutions while maintaining the artistic nature of Zoological Design.  His responsibilities include managing projects through all phases from schematic design through construction administration as well as serving as team leader for the Zoo’s A/E consultant team. Greg also coordinates our Business Development efforts with Patrick Brinker and manages the day-to-day operations of the firm.

Patrick Brinker | Project Manager

Patrick is a Project Manager with Gregory Gates Architect (GGA).  He has been a member of our team since 2015 and received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Detroit.

Since joining GGA, Patrick has been responsible for bringing steady leadership to projects from schematic design through construction administration for the office’s residential, commercial, and zoological projects. His attention to detail, technical proficiency, and strong communication skills are a contributing factor in the projects he manages, meeting milestones and exceeding our clients’ expectations.  His love of the building sciences combined with his problem solving and 3D modeling skills assist the client in realizing their projects in all stages of the design process.  Patrick serves as the Client Leader for our work with the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere and coordinates our Business Development efforts.

Brian Gernetzke | Project Architect

Brian is a Project Architect with Gregory Gates Architect (GGA).  He has been a member of our team since 2022 and received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. 

Since joining GGA, Brian has been responsible for managing projects from the schematic design phase through the construction administration phase for zoological projects and brings 18 years of project management experience in commercial architectural projects. Brian has been an integral team member on our current Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Projects and his technical proficiency and strong communication skills bring strong leadership to these projects as he oversees the day-to-day management and construction document production.   

Nicole Szparagowski | Project Designer

Nicole is a Project Designer with Gregory Gates Architect (GGA).  She has been a member of our team since 2021 and received her Master of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. 

Since joining GGA, Nicole has been an integral team member on the current Cincinnati Zoo Asian Elephant & North America Exhibits.  She brings valuable design, rendering, and production expertise to her projects.  Nicole assists clients in realizing their project through the use of  3D modeling and rendering software.

Stephen Starkey | Project Architect

As a small design firm, we take pride in our client relationships. In addition, we specialize in the following areas of work:

• Animal habitats and holding buildings

• Restaurants

• Visitor and welcome centers

• New residential construction

• Residential additions and remodels

• Design consultation

• As-built drawing sets

• Code studies

• Building facade studies

Themed Environments

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

• Roo Valley (2020)

• Mai Thai’s Market (2020)

• African Penguin Point (2020)

• Hops Beer Garden (2019)

• Entry Village Expansion (2019)

• Lion Yard Enrichment (2019)

• Tiger Yard Enrichment (2019)

• Gorilla World Expansion (2017)

• Bowyer Farm Cheetah Holding (2016)

• Africa Exhibits (2013 - 2017)*

• Entry Village (2009)*

* Project done as part of Cornette-Violleta Architects

Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

• Pizza & Ice Cream Cafe (2019)

• Tiger Exhibit Interiors Package (2018)

• Ambassador Program Building (2017)

• Rhino Holding Barn (2016)*

• Entry Village (2016)*

* Project done as part of Cornette-Violleta Architects

Residential

We have been privileged to provide design services to clients in the following communities.

• Mariemont, OH (18 projects)

• Anderson Township, OH (7 projects)

• Montgomery, OH (4 projects)

• Hyde Park, OH (2 projects)

• Newtown, OH (2 projects)

• Mt. Lookout, OH (2 projects)

• Batavia, OH

• Madeira, OH

• Maineville, OH

• Oakley, OH

• Oxford, OH

• Pierce Township, OH

• St. Bernard, OH

• Symmes Township, OH

• Wyoming, OH

• Covington, KY (2 projects)

• Ft. Mitchell, KY

• Goodlettsville, TN

Additional Work

• Adam’s Heating & Cooling

• The Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum

• Cowboy Cones

• Holman Motors

• Hometown Concrete

• Iofina Chemical

• Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church

• New City Presbyterian Church

• Shepherd Color Company