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Work Program Architects is an architecture firm in downtown Norfolk that has been busy redefining and shaping the landscape and culture of the area one project, one building and one community at a time.
The growing company’s portfolio ranges from mom-and-pop businesses to landmark nonprofits, museums and academic facilities such as the Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab, the Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio, Norfolk State University’s Preservation of the new science building and Maury High School buildings.
“They are about deepening the soul of the community,” said Marjorie Mayfield Jackson, executive director of the Elizabeth River Project. “They try to think about the interests of Norfolk, the region and the planet, and where they can use their abilities to paint a picture of a better future, and then help people realize their picture.”
Founded in 2010 by Principals Mel Price and Thom White as a tribute to the Works Progress Administration, WPA was originally located in the Monticello Arcade and moved into the Assembly Building in May 2021. The firm designed the Assembly Building renovation to include its own 5,400-square-foot open studio concept on the third floor that serves as a creative hub for its 20 employees.
Both Price and White are considered “Boomerangs,” Hampton Roads natives who went off to college and returned a few years later eager to make an impact on the place they’ve always called home.
“It’s a joy to be able to help people shape and enhance their life stories through the places where they live, work and play,” White said.
Their first project, The Plot park and gathering space, attracted more than 100 volunteers eager to lend a helping hand and received countless donations.
“That’s when we really understood the connection between doing hands-on work with the community and then building trust in the community that we can do a good job,” Price said.
It paid off. In 2013, as a young firm, WPA won its first urban design contract with the City of Norfolk. Price has twice competed and won the contract again, and his current five-year deal includes 15 companies and totals $425,000 per year.
The majority of WPA’s work is located in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton and Newport News. Price said this allows the company to be embedded in the community and easily access sites, but crews also work outside the region, including in Northern Virginia and North Carolina.
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Resilience equals success
To ensure the company’s work focuses on the region’s social, economic and coastal resilience, each project must address two of these three areas.
“In many ways, these areas of focus are self-chosen,” White said. “In our efforts to strengthen our communities, it’s clear these are important components for long-term success.”
Price emphasized that every project is unique and an opportunity to learn new things. Pointing to Norfolk State as WPA’s first big client, Price said the university took a chance on the then-small, unknown company and paved the way for its success.
NSU’s nearly $122 million new science building is the company’s largest project to date, based on construction costs. The project includes chemistry, biology and physics classrooms and laboratories, a planetarium, greenhouses, bioswales and rain gardens, and outdoor classrooms. Bioswales are landscape features designed to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff. Construction will begin this year and is expected to be completed in 2026.
Richard A. Law, Norfolk State Architect and interim director of capital planning and improvements, said WPA has been involved in many university projects over the years, including the GWC Brown Memorial.
“They are the top architect firm we work with,” Law said. “They go above and beyond in everything.”
WPA typically favors infill development or historic restoration in urban settings, Price said. But these urban design projects need to overcome the hurdle of gaining the trust of people in the community before any project proposals can be made. She praised her community engagement leader, Sharon Manana, for her work in this area.
“People were having conversations with Sharon on their front porches that made them uncomfortable in a public meeting at the recreation center,” Price said.
As true preservationists, WPA was part of the team that submitted proposals for the future of Moree High School, which was built in 1911 and renovated in 1986. The school board is moving forward with the team’s plans to build a new school, restore the old school to build apartments and maintain some facilities, including the auditorium, for public use.
“If it was torn down and we didn’t try something, we would regret it,” Price said. “Any time you can reuse a building, it’s the most environmentally friendly thing you can do.”
When asked about his favorite and most challenging project, White said that while it’s hard to choose, he thinks the expansion of the Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio exemplifies the beauty of looking at art from a museum perspective versus displaying art. Intersection, all education in service. He also called it one of the most challenging sites in the region to “live with water.”
Erik H. Neil and Joan Brock, presidents of the Chrysler Museum of Art, said the museum searched for the project nationwide.
“WPA excelled both in terms of design quality and overall sensitivity to us as clients,” says Neil.
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Speak up for the community
On the urban design side, the transformation of the St. Paul area and public housing community formerly known as Tidewater Gardens into a mixed-income redevelopment called Kindred stands out as the company’s largest project investment in terms of size and length of time. Number of participants from engineers and architects from all over the country. The firm serves as a consultant to cities and development teams to incorporate community needs into design plans.
“Our job is to consistently express what’s important to the community — a commitment to them — and deliver on that commitment,” Price said.
This theme runs throughout the work of WPA. Known for its strong belief in transparent community engagement, the company works to ensure community members have a voice in their communities.
For example, the company helped gather feedback on the Rudee Loop redevelopment in Virginia Beach by compiling and analyzing proposals and ranking input to help people make decisions.
“This is more often the case in this era of highly polarized discussions, where cities want to have an independent person (as opposed to being viewed as a city) running a process,” Price said.
At 6 a.m. on a cold day in January 2023, the firm’s urban design team stepped out on Rudee Loop to serve coffee and donuts to the early-rising surfers and fishermen. More than 27,000 individual opinions were collected.
“You really have to design a public engagement process that caters to all the groups you need to reach on their time, on their turf,” Price said.
A human-centered approach is important to WPA, which enables interaction and collaboration with a wide range of people from different backgrounds to find what is most meaningful to them and design accordingly.
“I feel like we’re really lucky to be able to do meaningful community and civic work,” Price said.
Erika Keja Reel, owner of Geo Concepts Group, a residential building contractor, said the model book WPA created for Olde Huntersville in Norfolk transformed the community. Riel built three houses and lived in one.
“They’re committed to the community,” Leal said. “We are lucky to have them in Norfolk. Their work is a labor of love.”
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Set an example
WPA also aims to develop and leverage its learned expertise in coastal resilience to other regions.
“You take it one step at a time, with the goal of going a little bit north, a little bit south, taking that knowledge and starting to work in other communities,” she said. “We’ll learn different things there and then take it home with us. .”
Completed in late 2023, the 6,200-square-foot Ryan Resilience Lab at the Elizabeth River Project has received national recognition and won the Hampton Roads Commercial Real Estate Association’s 2021 Development Design Excellence Award for Best Concept Project.
It was designed by WPA architect Sam Bowling to withstand flooding and rising sea levels until markers determined the building needed to collapse. The building’s primary focus is on achieving sustainability in net-zero energy use through various strategies such as solar energy, rainwater harvesting, and green roofs.
WPA is committed to giving back to the community and is part of the 1+ organization, donating 1-10% of profits through donations and charity work. Public benefit projects to date include The Plot I and The Plot II, Elizabeth River Trail, Elizabeth River Project and Teens with a Purpose.
“We just select organizations that align with our mission values and then do whatever we can to help them get to where they need to go,” Price said.
Internally, the firm likes to work with aspiring architects through its diversity development and scholarship programs. Price said WPA, now in its third year, works with students of all ages to increase diversity in the major. For example, black women make up just 0.4% of architects and only 1.2% of new architects, according to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
“As a profession, we don’t reflect well on the communities around us,” Price said.
Overall, Price and White are very optimistic about the future of the city, the region and their jobs.
“We’re excited to see the next generation of engaged community members truly thinking about business and life from a regional perspective,” she said.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com
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