What Work Program Architects does

Work Program Architects (WPA) is a privately held architecture and urban design firm founded in 2010 and headquartered at 400 Granby Street in Norfolk, Virginia, with a second office opened in February 2026 at 300 Fayetteville St. in Raleigh, North Carolina. The firm operates a multi-disciplinary design practice spanning architecture, urban planning, interior design, landscape architecture, environmental graphics, historic rehabilitation, and fabrication, serving civic, cultural, educational, commercial, housing, and nonprofit clients in the Hampton Roads and, more recently, the North Carolina Triangle region. WPA's practice is differentiated by a community-centered design process — charrettes, stakeholder engagement, and public design sessions — combined with specialized expertise in coastal resilience (flood mitigation, bioswales, subterranean elevation) and historic adaptive reuse, anchored by the guiding principle that each project must advance at least two of economic, social, or coastal resilience objectives.

WPA generates revenue through professional service fees for commissioned architectural and design work, billed via percentage-of-construction-cost or hourly rate structures typical of U.S. architecture firms; no public fee schedule is published. Go-to-market combines direct commissions (private clients, nonprofits, commercial developers) with RFP-based public-sector procurement (city governments, K-12 districts, universities). The firm has built a high-profile civic portfolio including the Chrysler Museum Perry Glass Studio Expansion, the Elizabeth River Project's Ryan Resilience Lab, UVA's Fontaine Research Park Parking Garage, Norfolk State University's New Science Building and historic renovations, Norfolk Public Schools' ~$230M Maury High School redevelopment, The Railyard at Lambert's Point, and the William A. Hunton Family YMCA. Marketing is predominantly earned media, awards (Fast Company Most Innovative Companies #7 in Social Good, Inc. Regionals Mid-Atlantic #113, Inc. Best Workplaces, Real Leaders Top Impact Companies), and case-study-driven content.

The firm is founder-led by CEO Mel Price (AIA Fellow since 2024) and is organized around a small number of senior principals including Managing Principal Sam Bowling (Raleigh office lead) and Director of Community Engagement Sharon Manana. Ownership remains with founders and principals; no external institutional investors, venture capital, or parent company ownership is indicated. WPA is recognized for a progressive workplace culture, including full pay transparency, and was named to Inc.'s 2025 Best Workplaces list.

Name

Work Program Architects

Legal name

Work Program Architects

Website

https://wparch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Work Program Architects is a Norfolk, Virginia-based architecture and urban design firm founded in 2010 serving civic, educational, cultural, commercial, and nonprofit clients. It specializes in community-centered design, coastal resilience, and historic adaptive reuse, and expanded to Raleigh, NC in 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (541410), Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC), Space Planning & Workplace Design (BPAHAKAI), Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Urban master planning
• Historic building rehabilitation
• Coastal resilience design
• Civic architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Norfolk

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: WPA generates revenue primarily through professional fees for architectural and design services on commissioned projects. Fees are typically tied to project scope, complexity, and duration, billed through standard architectural fee structures (percentage of construction cost or hourly rates for municipal/institutional clients). Projects span new construction, renovation, historic rehabilitation, and master planning across multiple sectors.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Work Program Architects is an architecture and urban design firm offering collaborative, community-centered design services across civic, cultural, commercial, educational, and residential sectors. Its work spans new construction, adaptive reuse, master planning, historic rehabilitation, interior design, environmental graphics, landscape architecture, and custom fabrication, with particular specializations in coastal resilience design, historic preservation, and stakeholder-engaged civic project delivery.

Product overview

Work Program Architects (WPA) is an architecture and urban design firm based in Norfolk, Virginia with an additional office in Raleigh, North Carolina. The firm operates as a single unified design practice rather than a platform with separate modules. WPA's service offerings span architecture, urban planning, interior design, environmental graphics, historic rehabilitation, and fabrication across multiple sectors including higher education, K-12 education, civic and cultural, commercial, housing, and environmental resilience. The firm is known for community-centered design processes and projects that address social, economic, and coastal resilience challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture and Urban Design Services Full-service architecture and urban design offering for civic, cultural, housing, and educational projects, delivered through a collaborative, community-centered design process.
• Higher Education Design Architecture and design services for colleges and universities, including campus planning, new academic and research buildings, and historic renovation.
• K-12 Education Design Architecture services for K-12 public schools, including new construction, renovations, athletic facilities, and modernized educational environments with environmental resilience features.
• Urban Design and Planning Urban design, master planning, and city planning services for community development, revitalization, and multi-modal infrastructure projects.
• Civic and Cultural Design Architecture for civic buildings, museums, cultural centers, and public facilities that serve communities, including flood-resilient cultural facility design.
• Commercial Architecture Commercial building design including adaptive reuse, mixed-use developments, and tenant buildouts for private developers and businesses.
• Housing Design Residential and multi-family housing architecture including affordable housing developments and neighborhood transformation projects.
• Historic Rehabilitation Historic preservation, renovation, and adaptive reuse of historic structures, integrating modern systems within vintage buildings while maintaining architectural heritage.
• Environmental Resilience Design Coastal resilience, flood mitigation, and sustainable design services addressing climate challenges, sea-level rise, stormwater management, and resilient building siting.
• Fabrication Custom fabrication services for architectural elements, installations, and specialized building components supporting the firm's design projects.
• Branding and Graphic Design Environmental graphics, branding, signage, and wayfinding design services for buildings and public spaces.
• Interior Design Interior architecture and design services for commercial, institutional, and residential spaces, delivered alongside broader architectural commissions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Perry Glass Studio expansion tripled the facility's size; nearly 1,500 community members participated in glassmaking by end of 2024; 2,500–3,000 monthly visitors
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Elizabeth River Trail FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWPA helped launch the foundation and continues to provide master planning services pro bono. Founder Mel Price serves as vice chair. WPA designed the Lambert's Point Pedestrian Bridge concept for the foundation.
• Timmons GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering firm providing technical expertise alongside WPA on the pedestrian bridge design as part of the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation's overpass project.
• VHBminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering firm advising on the pedestrian bridge engineering for the Jeff Robertson/Lambert's Point Overpass, in partnership with WPA and the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation.
• Kimley-HornminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineering firm advising on pedestrian bridge preliminary engineering feedback for the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation project.
• Meredith ConstructioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorfolk-based family business that spearheaded The Railyard at Lambert's Point redevelopment. WPA led site planning, master planning, and design concepts for the $30–40M mixed-use project.
• Clear Creek Brothers, LLC (CCB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharlotte-based real estate group partnering with Meredith Construction on The Railyard at Lambert's Point mixed-use redevelopment in Norfolk, VA.
• VMDO ArchitectscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDesign Architect on the new Maury High School project; WPA serves as Architect of Record in partnership with Heartland Construction.
• Heartland ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDeveloper and contractor on the new Maury High School project (~$230M).
• popblossomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCuratorial collective that operated the WPA Gallery within the Monticello Arcade, curating exhibitions of regional, national, and international artists from July 2013 through at least 2019.
• Stromberg Garrigan & AssociatesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLandscape architecture firm that designed the large rain garden integrated into the Perry Glass Studio expansion to manage stormwater and support flood resilience.
• Commonwealth Preservation Group (CPG)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHistoric preservation consultant providing guidance on Maury High School's historic building rehabilitation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Global architecture practice with significant higher-education, civic, and cultural portfolios. Larger incumbent that competes with WPA on institutional RFPs where scale and national footprint matter.
• HOK: Global design practice with deep higher-education, civic, and healthcare portfolios. Represents the larger, broader incumbent competitor that WPA occasionally co-exists with on major institutional commissions.

Direct peers

• VMDO Architects: Charlottesville, VA-based architecture firm specializing in K-12 and higher education design. Documented co-design partner with WPA on the Maury High School project, sharing civic-education client overlap and Mid-Atlantic geography.
• Eskew+Dumez+Ripple: New Orleans architecture firm recognized for community-engaged and climate-resilient design in a coastal-flood context. Closest analogue to WPA's coastal resilience and participatory planning practice.
• BNIM Architects: Kansas City-based firm with a national reputation for resilience, sustainability, and community-centered design across civic and educational sectors. Strong methodological overlap with WPA's tri-pillar resilience framework.
• Mithun: Seattle/Minneapolis integrated design firm known for community-centered civic, education, and cultural projects. Comparable in scale and in applying stakeholder engagement as a foundational design practice.
• Bonstra Haresign Architects: Washington, DC architecture firm with a civic, community, and adaptive-reuse portfolio. Comparable Mid-Atlantic footprint and orientation toward mission-driven institutional clients.

Regional players

• Clark Nexsen: Norfolk-headquartered architecture and engineering firm with deep civic, higher-ed, and federal presence in Hampton Roads. Directly competes with WPA in the same local market for institutional and government commissions.
• Hanbury: Norfolk/Virginia Beach-based architecture firm with a comparable civic, education, and adaptive-reuse portfolio. Operates in the same Hampton Roads geography and serves overlapping institutional clients.
• LS3P Associates: Southeast US architecture firm with offices across the Carolinas and Virginia. Competes with WPA across higher-ed, K-12, civic, and cultural projects in overlapping geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wparchitects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/work-program-architects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Work Program Architects