Our Mission
To strengthen community through a collaborative design process
We do this by only taking on projects that build:
Social Resilience
Economic Resilience
Environmental Resilience
Our Core Values
Collaborative
We are true collaborators within the WPA studio, with our clients, consultants, other architects, and the community. We’ve purposefully provided spaces in our work environments for these opportunities.
Community-Focused
We support our local community and believe in real public process where everyone has an equal voice and feels invested. We deliberately take on pro bono work to demonstrate our dedication to community projects.
Open & Transparent
We’ve built our business on true transparency. Finances, salaries, and bonuses are an open book, as we believe it provides for two-way accountability. By opening ourselves up for critique, we can grow and develop our practice more rapidly.
Environmental Resilience
We are dedicated to the stewardship of both the natural and built environment, prioritizing sustainability and adaptability. By addressing environmental challenges, we foster resilience through harmony between natural systems and community well-being.
Respect of People + Place
We are listeners, first and foremost, honoring the unique stories, cultures, and context that shape each project. This approach ensures authenticity, meaning, and a deep connection to the communities we serve.
Our Services
Our architectural work is grounded in listening and shaped by use, context, and care. We design buildings that support learning, civic life, and gathering — places that feel welcoming, purposeful, and enduring. From renovations to new construction, our process balances creativity with practicality, resulting in spaces that are functional, expressive, and deeply connected to the people they serve.
We approach urban design as a tool for building stronger, more connected communities. We work at the scale of streets, neighborhoods, districts, cities, campuses, and watersheds, blending placemaking, resilience, mobility, and economic development strategies. Through inclusive engagement and data-informed analysis, we help clients envision clear frameworks that guide growth, celebrate local identity, and translate big ideas into implementable, phased solutions.
Our interior design practice shapes environments that elevate daily experience and support how people learn, work, gather, and live. We design interiors as integral extensions of the architecture — prioritizing comfort, clarity, accessibility, and identity. From academic and office buildings to public and cultural spaces, our interiors integrate materials, color, graphics, and furnishings to create cohesive, human-centered environments that reflect both function and character.
Environmental graphics help people navigate, understand, and identify with place. Our work includes wayfinding systems, signage, placemaking elements, and integrated visual identity, all thoughtfully embedded within the built environment. Working closely with our architecture and urban design teams, these graphics strengthen identity and support placemaking by clarifying how spaces function and how they are experienced.
About
Founded in 2010 by Mel Price and Thom White, Work Program Architects has grown into a multidisciplinary design practice rooted in collaboration and community. We design educational and municipal projects, civic landmarks, places of business, and environments that support gathering and connection.
Our work is shaped by people first — by the communities, institutions, and individuals who use these spaces every day. We see each project as an opportunity to strengthen connection, reflect identity, and create environments that support learning, belonging, and shared experience. Collaboration is central to how we work. Our open studio culture brings together staff, clients, consultants, and community partners in an engaged and transparent design process. By working across disciplines — architecture, urban design, interiors, and environmental graphics — we create thoughtful, cohesive places that respond to both context and use.
WPA’s team has diverse expertise in architecture, interior design, urban planning, graphic design, fabrication, modeling, and project management. With an in-house education consultant, we bring added insight into the programming and design of learning environments. We value a healthy, transparent workplace that supports professional growth, develops effective leaders, and encourages active civic engagement.
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