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Architectural Products on WPA: “Community Architecture at its Finest”

Written by WPA on December 17, 2024. Posted in Assembly, Chrysler Museum, Community, Elizabeth River Project, Glass Studio, Mel Price, Norfolk, Virginia, WPA.

Community is critical to the work we do at Work Program Architects. Whether we’re working with local officials, engaging small business owners or talking with neighbors about their hopes and concerns, we rely on their voices to help our projects enhance the social, economic, and environmental landscape of our region.

Barbara Horwitz-Bennett at Architectural Products recently highlighted this aspect of our work in her Last Details column, going so far as to call the work WPA does “a shining example of community architecture at its finest.”

To support that superlative statement, she shared some of our favorite community-focused projects, like the Ryan Resilience Lab, OpenNorfolk, and the Perry Glass Studio at the Chrysler Museum of Art. Each of these projects reflects our mission to make communities stronger, more vibrant, and more resilient.

“We view the community as a major stakeholder in the work we do. They might not be the ones calling for a proposal, but they will be impacted by the environments we help build,” WPA CEO Mel Price told Horwitz-Bennett. “For a project to be successful, those impacts need to be taken into account, which means that those people need to be listened to.”

Read the full article in Architectural Products 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.

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

Written by WPA on July 23, 2024. 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.

Work Program Architects Names Two New Principals, Updates Staff Titles for Future Growth

Written by WPA on May 3, 2024. Posted in Chrysler Museum, Elizabeth River Project, Glass Studio, Norfolk, NSU, Principal, Science, Virginia, WPA, WPA Studio.

Norfolk, Virginia, May 3, 2024 — The principals of Work Program Architects are excited to announce a number of changes to staff titles and roles that position the firm for future growth, including naming architects Erin Agdinaoay and Sam Bowling as associate principals. Agdinaoay and Bowling will join co-founders Mel Price and Thom White in leading the firm.

In addition to Agdinaoay and Bowling, three other long-time team members have received new titles and responsibilities.

Stacey Crawshaw has been named marketing director and will collaborate closely with WPA’s urban designers, architects, interior designers and graphic designers while continuing to play a pivotal role in brand development, graphics and print design. Sharon Manana has been named director of community engagement and will facilitate productive discussions with diverse groups and individuals impacted by WPA projects. John Stephens has been named director of operations and will oversee the firm’s daily operations, monitoring project progress and managing staff workloads to ensure timely completion.

“We have been growing as a firm and our staff has been making the adjustments and sacrifices to deliver success for our clients” says CEO Price. “These new titles are both a recognition of the work that this amazing team is already doing and a necessary step to assure that WPA will continue its work to build more resilient communities well into the future.”

Since its founding in 2010, WPA has contributed to numerous projects that address social, economic, and coastal resilience in Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, along with other communities in Virginia and North Carolina. Its current projects include the Ryan Resilience Lab for the Elizabeth River Project, the Perry Glass Studio at the Chrysler Museum of Art and the new Science Building for Norfolk State University.

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

Written by WPA on April 19, 2024. 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.

WPA is accepting applications for summer of 2023 Diversity Advancement Internship & Scholarship.

WPA in Inform Magazine — Adapting During the Pandemic

Written by WPA on March 11, 2021. Posted in COVID-19, Norfolk, Pandemic, Virginia, Work From Home, WPA, WPA Studio.

Read about WPA and how the company has adapted during this pandemic in this article by Inform Magazine.

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