Architecture | WPA - Work Program Architects

NBC’s Today Show Takes Viewers on a Tour of the Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab

Written by WPA on April 25, 2025. Posted in Architecture, Civic, Community, Elizabeth River, Elizabeth River Project, Environment, ERP, Norfolk, Uncategorized, Virginia, WPA.

The Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab, designed by Work Program Architects, was recently featured on NBC’s Today show, bringing national attention to the Norfolk-based nonprofit’s groundbreaking model for climate resilience. The segment highlighted how the lab is providing both hope and inspiration for residents of coastal communities worldwide.

Consumer correspondent Vicky Nguyen took viewers on a tour of the lab as part of the show’s climate coverage, noting how it “showcases inventive and practical ways homeowners and builders can design structures to endure severe weather and combat pollution.”

Situated along Knitting Mill Creek in Norfolk, the 6,500-square-foot lab was intentionally built within a flood zone to showcase real-world solutions to environmental challenges. The building incorporates features such as a floating entry pavilion, permeable parking surfaces, rainwater reuse systems, green roofs, and a living shoreline, each element contributing to its net-zero energy goals and resilience against rising tides.

“The thing we kept in mind from the very beginning was sustainability, resilience to flooding, and accessibility,” project architect Sam Bowling told Nguyen. “We wanted to make sure that every solution was something that someone could buy off the shelf, put together with parts [and] do it themselves or find someone locally who could do it for them.”

The lab, which opened in Spring of 2024, provides tours and programming year-round for anyone interested in learning more about the solutions included in the Today show report, as well as those just looking to connect with the river.

People who visit the lab “are so excited,” said Elizabeth River Project Founder Marjorie Mayfield Jackson. “They come back with their neighbors and friends and colleagues. It’s a new day on the Elizabeth River and I hope it’s giving hope around the world.”

For the full Today show segment above and here. Read more about the Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab here.

Expanded Perry Glass Studio Reopens at the Chrysler Museum of Art

Written by WPA on April 14, 2025. Posted in Architecture, Arts & Design District, Chrysler Museum, Civic, Downtown Norfolk, Educational, Glass, Glass Studio, Hampton Roads, NEON, Norfolk, Uncategorized, Virginia, WPA.

The Perry Glass Studio at the Chrysler Museum of Art has officially reopened following a $30 million expansion. The museum marked the occasion with a vibrant weekend of festivities that drew major media attention and hundreds of visitors. The grand opening included live glassblowing demonstrations by nationally recognized artists, a sold-out gala event, and a family-friendly festival featuring performances and hands-on activities.

In advance of the festivities, the expanded facility was featured across regional media outlets including 13News Now, WAVY, The Virginian-Pilot, and WHRO, all highlighting the studio’s striking transformation and its significance to Norfolk’s cultural landscape.

“It’s a dream come true to see it emerging fully finished and ready to go,” WPA’s Thom White told WAVY. “I think it will be huge. It will have the ability to reach a lot more visitors, to educate students and glassmaking and the arts around glass. It’s so versatile in the way that it can handle programming, whether that be productions in the theater, hot shop or this classroom.”

Work Program Architects led the design of the project, which more than tripled the size of the original studio and established it as a leading center for glass art in the U.S. The reimagined space includes a 190-seat amphitheater-style hot shop, dedicated classrooms, and state-of-the-art cold- and flame-working areas, all designed to accommodate a growing community of artists, students, and visitors. With a focus on transparency, accessibility, and environmental resilience, the expansion enhances both the creative and educational mission of the museum while preparing the site for future climate challenges.

Media coverage highlighted both the design and the experience it creates. 13News Now provided a behind-the-scenes video tour, while WAVY spotlighted the museum’s assistantship program, which is aided by the new space. In a written report, WHRO detailed the many ways community members, including university students, can utilize the facility to create their own works of art, while an episode of the station’s arts program, Curate, explored the studio and the artform, as well as the origins of the expansion.

“We interviewed several architectural firms up and down the east coast, from all the big cities,” said Robin Rogers, manager and program director for the Perry Glass Studio. “But it was a local firm, WPA, that really hit it out of the park.”

The Virginian-Pilot provided even more historical context to the recent developments, noting the glass studio’s beginnings as a 9,200-square-foot facility that “reached capacity after the huge demand due to the popular glassblowing classes and partnerships with local colleges and community organizations.”

“The workshops allow visiting and in-house artists to create new and innovative artwork on full display to visitors,” project architect Robert Crawshaw told The Virginian-Pilot. “And spaces throughout the expansion present opportunities for the museum to display these works.”

Watch and read coverage of the opening from WAVY, 13News Now, The Virginian-Pilot and WHRO. Read more about the project here.

Proposed Designs for New Maury High School Unveiled

Written by WPA on February 7, 2025. Posted in Architecture, Education, Educational, Norfolk, Norfolk Public Schools, Uncategorized.

Last week at a public event, Work Program Architects (WPA), VMDO Architects and Heartland Construction unveiled proposed designs for the new Maury High School in Norfolk, Virginia. During the event, which was held in the cafeteria at the current high school building and hosted by Norfolk Public Schools and the City of Norfolk, community members were invited to weigh in on the designs.

As noted in local coverage of the event, this was the second in a series of community engagement sessions to gather feedback on plans for the school.

“The only way we can be successful is to be engaged with the community and to get that feedback,” Heartland Construction Vice President Robert Hudson said in an interview with WAVY at the event. “We encourage the community to come to these meetings and to be vocal about what their hopes and dreams and goals are for this facility.”

The redevelopment is aimed at creating a modern, high-performing learning environment designed to support diverse student needs. The new four-story high school, adjacent to the current Maury High School building, is designed for 1750 students and features outdoor learning spaces, pedestrian pathways, and enhanced facilities. The design also includes facilities for football, baseball, softball and track, as well as a tennis complex, multi-use fields, and a natatorium.

“I like it,” community member Doug Knack told WAVY. “It’s really thoughtful and I think it will accomplish a lot.” “It seems to be a design that will expand over time,” added Kathy Knack, “and I think you need to plan for the future and just not for the immediate needs.”

The designs on display last week were influenced by an initial community meeting that took place in June. In that meeting, community members were invited to share their thoughts, hopes, and dreams for the school’s transformative redevelopment.

Discussed in both the first and second meetings was the fate of the current Maury High School building. The historic 1911 building will remain, though its future use has yet to be determined.

“The existing building is a historic landmark, and I think they should keep as much of it in its original form as they can,” Maury alum Victor Jones told WHRO during the event. “I think it should be left up for those people like myself … to come back and marvel and have memories of what it was when I was here as a young freshman.”

Another community event aimed at gathering additional feedback will be scheduled for later in the year. The project is currently scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2028.

“These images you see will change,” VMDO’s Rob Winstead told the community members gathered in the Maury cafeteria. “Next time we come back, they will be different.”

Watch, read and listen to coverage of the event from WAVY, WTKR, The Virginian-Pilot and WHRO.

WAVY, WHRO Highlight Functionality and Resilience of New Perry Glass Studio

Written by WPA on January 10, 2025. Posted in AIA, Architecture, Chrysler Museum, Education, ERT, Glass, Glass Studio, Hampton Roads, Monticello Arcade, Norfolk, Reslience, St. Pauls, Urban Design, Vibe District, Virginia, WPA, WPA Studio.

As the second and final phase of the Perry Glass Studio’s expansion and renovation nears completion, members of the press are taking notice of the new structure standing tall alongside the main Chrysler Museum of Art building in Norfolk, Virginia. These recent stories show how the WPA-designed project is elevating the museum’s beloved studio to become a world-class center for glass artistry that also demonstrates innovative approaches to flood mitigation.

The Perry Glass Studio has long been a cornerstone of the museum, offering hands-on experiences and drawing artists from around the world. With the $30 million expansion tripling its size, the studio will better meet a growing demand. “My favorite feature of this whole project is […] the ability to do more than one thing at once,” said Perry Glass Studio Program Director Robin Rogers in a recent WAVY segment.

While the renovation of the previously existing studio into additional instructional space is just now nearing completion, the studio’s 24,000-square-foot expansion has been open for months, providing a cutting edge facility for education, exhibitions, and live demonstrations, while also creating welcoming spaces for the community.

In addition to functionality, the building’s design prioritizes resilience in the face of flooding. This was the focus of another recent segment, from WHRO. Norfolk’s vulnerability to sea level rise required innovative solutions to ensure the studio could withstand future flooding.

“In our area in Norfolk, where many of our projects are, we have to deal with the environment first because of flooding,” project architect Robert Crawshaw told WHRO. “So not only are they getting the tidal (flooding), but they’re also getting all of the water that’s draining off of several square miles of area uphill.”

Measures include raising the building and the power transformer that keeps the furnaces running above the floodplain, as well as the installation of a large rain garden, designed by Stromberg Garrigan & Associates. As WHRO highlighted, the project emphasizes sustainability and adaptation, showcasing how design can address both creative and environmental challenges.

Watch and listen to the complete coverage at WAVY and WHRO.

The Architect’s Newspaper Showcases WPA’s Approach to Community Engagement

Written by WPA on December 12, 2024. Posted in Architecture, Community, Uncategorized, WPA.

When it comes to design, community engagement doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Here at Work Program Architects, we believe it’s the foundation of every successful project.

In a recent article for The Architect’s Newspaper, CEO Mel Price and Director of Urban Design Peter Johnston shared how WPA approaches community engagement, emphasizing the importance of building trust, fostering emotional connections, and empowering communities. They write:

When a new building or development is planned in a neighborhood, it is only natural that emotions run high. A new project doesn’t just change the skyline and sightlines, after all; it alters the fabric of communities in a way that can be unnerving for even the most open-minded resident.

In our practice, Work Program Architects (WPA), we work on civic-oriented projects, which often get some pushback from residents and other stakeholders. Each project is different, but collectively they have provided us with valuable insights about complexities of community dynamics and the value of a well-run community engagement plan.

It may be tempting to regard this part of the process as another box to check, but designers and builders can’t afford to treat community engagement as an afterthought. Done wrong, this critical part of the design process can lead to mistrust, opposition, and polarization.

Read the full article in The Architect’s Newspaper here.

TCC Visual Arts and Design Center Featured in Retrofit Magazine

Written by WPA on October 1, 2024. Posted in Adaptive Reuse, Architecture, Downtown Norfolk, Education, Hampton Roads, Higher Education, Norfolk, TCC, Virginia, Visual Arts + Design Center, WPA.

Students have now had a full year in the new Visual Arts and Design Center at Tidewater Community College, but the project is still gaining new fans in the architecture community. The most recent recognition of the adaptive reuse project comes from Retrofit Magazine, which included the center in its package of notable education retrofits.

Located at street level on Boush Street in downtown Norfolk, beneath the 15-story condominium community Harbor Heights, the space now occupied by the Visual Arts and Design Center was previously a grocery store. The new facility was a necessity for the college’s visual arts program, which was forced to borrow space from other departments after electrical issues made its previous home in Portsmouth untenable.

The challenge for WPA was to quickly design, build, and deliver a new visual arts center in the 38,180-square-foot space that could contain the college’s expanding programs, such as graphic design. Despite volatile pandemic pricing and supply chain challenges, the design and build team managed to stay on schedule and within budget, allowing for classes to start in the fall semester of 2023.

The Visual Arts and Design Center was featured alongside The Henry Ford history museum in Dearborn, Mich.; the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.; and Johns Hopkins University’s adaptive reuse of the Newseum building in Washington, D.C. (which is pictured on the cover of the magazine).

View the full issue here.

Preservation Virginia Recognizes Assembly With ‘Outstanding Preservation Project Award’

Written by WPA on September 17, 2024. Posted in Architecture, Assembly, Awards, Downtown Norfolk, Historic, Norfolk, Preservation, Uncategorized, Virginia, WPA.

Assembly Exterior — Assembly, Norfolk, VA

Assembly, the downtown Norfolk office campus housed in a century-old building, is being awarded The Gabriella Page Outstanding Preservation Project Award by Preservation Virginia. The restored five-story building at 400 Granby Street, which was co-designed by Work Program Architects and Campfire & Co., joins a distinguished list of preservation projects that have been recognized by the organization since 1971.

“The 2024 slate of awardees demonstrates the power of historic preservation in revitalizing communities and sharing stories the general public otherwise may not know,” said Elizabeth S. Kostelny, Preservation Virginia CEO, in a statement. “Historic preservation is a proven economic engine in cities and rural areas, and the stories these places share add understanding to where we came from and where we’re going.”

Assembly actually occupies three historic buildings on Granby: the Ames & Brownley, built in 1919, which became Rice’s Department Store; the Sears & Roebuck building, and an adjacent warehouse. A full restoration brought back the main building’s 1920s appearance, while a thorough renovation of the 50,000-square-foot building introduced public spaces, a five-story open air stairway, shared work areas for the tenant businesses, and a rooftop terrace.

In recognizing the project and a design-build team that includes Commonwealth Preservation Group and Clancy & Theys Construction, Preservation Virginia stated that “Assembly represents visionary and creative preservation of a historic building while adaptively re-using it for modern audiences.”

In addition to housing GROW, a digital innovation agency and the building’s anchor tenant, the office building is home to a number of technology and creative companies, including 757 Startup Studios, Orbis, Affari Project, Have a Good Day, Lynch Mykins, Istoria, RISE (Resilience Innovations) and Work Program Architects.

Historic Ames and Brownley Department Store 1930 — Ames and Brownley Department Store circa 1930

“This is a magnificent building with an incredible history,” said Robert Crawshaw, the project designer for Assembly. “It was so important to us that we preserve that history and its character, even as we prepared the building for its next chapter, as an incubator for creativity and innovation in this region. This award is recognition that we succeeded.”

Assembly is one of five projects to receive the Gabriella Page award this year, joining the Murray-Dick-Fawcett House in Alexandria, The Waterford Mill in Waterford, Old City Hall in Richmond, and The Inn at Foster Falls in Max Meadows. All the recipients will be recognized during a ceremony Friday, September 27, at Main Street Station in Richmond.

Read the full list of recipients here.

WPA’s Open-Books Policy Highlighted in Fast Company Article

Written by WPA on September 14, 2024. Posted in Architecture, Norfolk, Uncategorized, Virginia, WPA, WPA Studio.

People aren’t supposed to talk about their paychecks with their coworkers, much less other employees’ paychecks. That’s been the accepted wisdom for a very long time. But now some businesses, including Work Program Architects, are challenging that assumption and experimenting with open-books policies in the office. Recently, WPA CEO Mel Price and Associate Principal Erin Agdinaoay shared WPA’s experience with the readers of Fast Company. They write:

Some of the results of our transparency work were expected. The culture of openness built trust. Managers were more likely to trust the staff to be responsible with their time and the firm’s finances, while staff could trust that managers were being honest with them, even if they didn’t agree with every decision.

Pay transparency also helped us keep potential pay disparities in check, which helped foster a culture of belonging. We have found that people specifically seek out WPA as an employer because of our transparency, and that pay transparency, in particular, has contributed to our ability to be more equitable, diverse, and inclusive.

Something else happened that we didn’t expect. By openly sharing information, we were treating everyone like an owner. As a result, we had employees who behaved like owners. We knew, though, that this approach was sustainable only if we actually rewarded our team members with ownership.

Read the full Fast Company article here.

Chrysler Museum of Art Preps New Perry Glass Studio Expansion

Written by WPA on September 10, 2024. Posted in Architecture, Blog, Chrysler Museum, Civic, Glass, Glass Studio, NEON, Norfolk, Uncategorized, Virginia, WPA.

Phase 1 of the new Perry Glass Studio expansion and renovation at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk is nearing completion. The oven has been fired and university classes and demonstrations have been scheduled for the fall as the builders shift their focus to the renovation of the museum’s original glass studio, the second and final phase of the $55 million project.

The Chrysler recently invited Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander and other city leaders, as well as a number of journalists, to take a sneak peek of the new space alongside Chrysler Director Erik Neil and Perry Glass Studio Manager and Program Director Robin Rogers.

“Everyone at the museum is very excited,” Rogers told WAVY. “We’ve been giving some hard-hat tours, and everyone that’s come through has been thrilled to see the space and just anxious to bring their families and get in here in person.”

The expansion, designed by WPA, features three hot shops, dedicated classrooms and a 200-seat amphitheater theater for teaching and performance. Visitors to the expanded facility will be able to witness the glass-making process, learn the history of glass as an artistic medium, and view the museum’s growing collection of glass art.

“There are only a few of these facilities in the world,” WPA CEO Mel Price told 13 News Now. “So in order to prepare ourselves to really bring an internationally significant building to Norfolk, my partner Thom [White] traveled all over the world to visit the best facilities [and] met with the curators.”

The expansion and renovation are also specifically designed to accommodate the artists who will work at the studio.

“We spent time here,” Mel said. “We took every single class here because we had to know what the artists were experiencing to be able to design.”

The entirety of the 33,000-square-foot Perry Glass Studio is expected to open to the public in early-spring of next year.

Watch the complete segments on WAVY and 13 News Now, and read a full report at The Virginian-Pilot.

CEO Mel Price Talks About Workplace Transparency with Inform Magazine

Written by WPA on August 8, 2024. Posted in Architecture, Norfolk, Uncategorized, Virginia, WPA.

Workplace transparency has been central to WPA’s operations since the firm’s founding in 2010. In a recent interview with William Richards for an article about “radical transparency” for Inform Magazine, CEO Mel Price discusses why the firm adopted an open books policy early on, how that decision has shaped the business and whether she and founding partner Thom White have any regrets. Richards writes:

“Back then [in 2010], the economy was shaky and the recovery from the Great Recession was slow-going. It maybe wasn’t an ideal time to try something radical when it came to company finances, but in that moment of uncertainty it was critical to create a culture of trust,” says Price about WPA’s founding.

Today? The firm’s approach to openness appears to be both prescient and also sustainable.

“The recent business climate hasn’t changed our approach to transparency at all and I really can’t imagine any economic situation that would,” she says. “I think the kind of trust between staff and management that true transparency creates is critical in the current moment as well. I can’t say if transparency is right for every firm all the time. But I do believe that if more firms tried, they would see what we have seen and they wouldn’t go back.”

Read the full Inform Magazine article here.