WPA Included on Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies

Written by WPA on . Posted in Architecture, Awards, Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia, WPA.

Work Program Architects has been included in the 2025 edition of the Inc. 5000, a recognition that the Norfolk architecture and design firm is among the fastest-growing private companies in America. The Inc. 5000 list offers a data-driven look at the most successful companies within the economy’s most dynamic segment — independent, entrepreneurial businesses.

“Making the Inc. 5000 is always a remarkable achievement, but earning a spot this year speaks volumes about a company’s tenacity and clarity of vision,” says Mike Hofman, editor-in-chief of Inc. “These businesses have thrived amid rising costs, shifting global dynamics, and constant change. They didn’t just weather the storm — they grew through it, and their stories are a powerful reminder that the entrepreneurial spirit is the engine of the U.S. economy.”

WPA’s growth over the past three years has been fueled by landmark projects such as the Ryan Resilience Lab for the Elizabeth River Project, the Perry Glass Studio expansion at the Chrysler Museum of Art, and the Visual Arts and Design Center at Tidewater Community College. These projects — which have been showcased by the Today show and the Wall Street Journal, and helped earn the firm a 2025 Most Innovative Companies award from Fast Company — reflect WPA’s mission to design for and with the communities it serves, engaging residents, stakeholders, and partners at every step.

“From the very beginning, we’ve believed that design can bring people together and tackle tough challenges,” says WPA CEO and co-founder Mel Price. “That approach has both strengthened the communities we work in and driven our growth. This recognition is a testament to our team’s creativity, our clients’ trust, and our commitment to building a thriving, sustainable business.”

Since its founding in 2010, WPA has developed a reputation for design excellence and for pioneering a radically transparent business model — one that shares financial data, decision-making power, and ownership mindset with every team member. The firm’s open, collaborative culture has earned it a spot on Inc.’s Best Workplaces list and attention from industry outlets like Fast Company, The American Institute of Architects and People Managing People.

Companies on the 2025 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2021 to 2024. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent — not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies.

See the complete list here.

Work Program Architects Named a 2025 Most Innovative Company by Fast Company

Written by WPA on . Posted in Awards, Norfolk, Social Good, Uncategorized, WPA.

Work Program Architects (WPA) has been named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025, earning the #7 spot in the Social Good category. The annual list recognizes businesses and organizations leading their industries through bold ideas and meaningful impact.

“As the world shifts and industries transform, the World’s Most Innovative Companies aren’t just keeping up. They’re setting the pace,” wrote Fast Company in its introduction to this year’s list, which includes other forward-looking companies like Waymo, Athletic Brewing and BlueSky. “Fast Company’s annual look at the most groundbreaking companies in every industry and across the globe offers a snapshot of innovation today and a playbook for the future.”

The Most Innovative Companies recognition highlights WPA’s commitment to designing spaces that foster resilience and strengthen communities with a particular focus. The firm’s work is shaped by a guiding principle that every project must address at least two of three core objectives: economic resilience, social resilience, and coastal resilience.

“Architecture has the power to strengthen communities, but only when the design process prioritizes the needs of the people who live and work in these places,” said Mel Price, CEO of WPA. “This recognition from Fast Company underscores the importance of placing resilience and social impact at the forefront of design.”

In the write-up that accompanied the recognition, Fast Company highlighted the expansion of the Perry Glass Studio at Norfolk’s Chrysler Museum of Art. Completed in September 2024, the project tripled the studio’s size while integrating flood-mitigation strategies to protect it from recurrent flooding. 

“WPA used advanced flood-mitigation techniques, including innovative subterranean engineering, to help raise the building above the floodplain, ensuring it can withstand rising sea levels and severe weather events,” Fast Company noted.

Fast Company also notes the impact the studio is having on the local creative economy, with nearly 1,500 community members participating in glassmaking by the close of 2024 and monthly visitors averaging 2,500 to 3,000. The project stands as a model for how cultural spaces can adapt to climate challenges while fostering community engagement. 

Check out the full list of Most Innovative Companies here.

Preservation Virginia Recognizes Assembly With ‘Outstanding Preservation Project Award’

Written by WPA on . 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.

Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab Is a Finalist in Fast Company’s 2024 Innovation by Design Awards

Written by WPA on . Posted in Architecture, Awards, Civic, Elizabeth River, Elizabeth River Project, Environment, ERP, Innovation, Norfolk, Urban Design, Virginia, WPA.

The innovative structure is designed to help the world’s urban coastal residents protect themselves – and nature – as sea levels rise.

The Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab was recently honored in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards for 2024. The Norfolk project, designed by Work Program Architects (WPA), was recognized as a finalist in the competition’s Urban Design category, alongside the Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts in Houston. Omaha’s Riverfront Revitalization was this year’s winner in the category.

The Innovation by Design Awards, which can be found online and in the Summer 2024 issue of Fast Company, honor the designers and businesses solving the most crucial problems of today and anticipating the pressing issues of tomorrow. The competition, now in its 13th year, features a range of blue-chip companies, emerging startups, and promising young talent. It is one of the most sought-after design awards in the industry.

The Ryan Resilience Lab was designed by WPA to house operations for the Elizabeth River Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring the Elizabeth River, and to showcase what the future of sustainable coastal living might look like.         

“This recognition highlights the importance of this project and the valuable contribution the Elizabeth River Project is making to the restoration, sustainability and resilience of coastal communities around the world,” says WPA CEO Mel Price. “It is also a testament to the hard work that the team at WPA put into this project and the brilliance of the project’s architect, Sam Bowling.” 

The lab was intentionally constructed inside a flood zone along one of Norfolk’s busiest commercial corridors and flanked by multiple residential neighborhoods. Inside and out, visitors will find ways to live sustainably and prepare for rising tides. Everything from the floating entry pavilion and storage shed to a “living shoreline” instead of a hardened shore, an 80,000-watt solar energy system, 10 gallons or rainwater collected and re-used in the toilets and a permeable parking lot to keep polluted runoff from reaching the river. Meanwhile, green roofs and walls covered in vegetation reduce runoff and conserve energy in winter and summer.                                          

“This year’s honorees show how essential creativity is to the process of innovation,” said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “It’s inspiring to see how some of the best minds across industries are using design to shape our world for the better.”

The judges include renowned designers from a variety of disciplines, business leaders from some of the most innovative companies in the world, and Fast Company’s own writers and editors. Entries are judged on the key ingredients of innovation: functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural impact, and business impact.

Earlier this summer, WPA gathered with the Elizabeth River Project and members of the community to celebrate the opening of the lab. View WTKR coverage of the event here.

WPA CEO and Co-founder Mel Price Receives Prestigious AIA Fellowship

Written by WPA on . Posted in AIA, Architecture, Awards, FAIA, Fellowship, Hampton Roads, Mel Price, Norfolk, Uncategorized, Virginia, WPA, WPA Studio.

NORFOLK, Virginia (April 5, 2024) — Mel Price, co-founder and principal at Work Program Architects, has been named to the College of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects. 

The fellowship is the highest membership honor for the organization and is bestowed on those who have demonstrated “exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society.” 

“It is a great honor to be recognized by the AIA,” Price said, “but this fellowship is also a great responsibility. I will use this opportunity to share what I have learned with my peers, to learn from them and, most importantly, to ensure that the profession grows and adapts with the next generation of architects so that we may continue to positively impact society.”

The AIA identifies mentorship as a core aspect of the fellowship program, along with providing service to society and advancing the profession.

Price is one of 96 architects in this year’s class. Only 3% of AIA members become fellows.

Visit the AIA website to read more about this year’s class.

Team including WPA wins 2020 HRACRE Merit Award

Written by WPA on . Posted in Awards, Uncategorized, Urban Design, Virginia Beach, WPA.

The team of Work Program Architects, Yard & Company, WPL, CVB SGA Office, Team Better Block and Stromberg/Garrigan & Associates won a 2020 HRACRE Merit Award for Best Master Planned Project for the Resort Area Strategic Action Plan in Virginia Beach.

Congratulations to all of the 2020 HRACRE Design Awards Recipients!

View the virtual awards presentation here, and look for the WPA team around the 19:13 mark.

Click here to view the pdf of the Resort Area Strategic Action Plan.

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