
Work Program Architects is proud to share that the Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab has been named a winner in Fast Company’s 2025 World Changing Ideas Awards. This national recognition honors bold, creative efforts that respond to society’s most pressing challenges, and this project’s message couldn’t be more urgent.
WPA was recognized alongside garbage-eating microbe technology developed at Harvard, a hydrogen-power data center created by ECL and the first-ever zero-plastic warehouse from Manifest.eco. Other architectural and design projects on the list include the Portland International Airport and the Hilda L. Solis Environmental Justice Center at Puente Hills Regional Park.
Norfolk is home to the largest naval base in the world, and while those massive aircraft carriers and battleships take up a lot of otherwise-fishable territory, there are still countless targets to cast at along the Elizabeth River. This is a story of a recovering river, with reports of massive fish kills and toxins in the water dating all the way back to the late 1800s. But cleanup efforts initiated in the 1970s and continuing today have proved fruitful. As of 2023 only one creek on the river scored lower than a “C” on its State of the River report card. The absolutely spectacular angling that people enjoy in these waters today backs that up. Redfish and speckled trout can be caught here year-round, not only on bait (try shrimp under a popping cork) but also on jigs or plugs and even while fly fishing. Reports of dozen-plus fish days are common, and many other species like striped bass, bluefish, black drum, croaker, and ribbonfish regularly show up in the catch.
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