Lauran E. Drown

Experience

Lauran Drown has extensive experience in the design and construction administration of commercial projects, including heritage conservation projects. Since joining WJE in 2018, Ms. Drown has contributed to a variety of building enclosure projects involving forensic investigations, condition assessment reports, and repair design for existing buildings, as well as enclosure peer review and design for new construction projects. Her experience with roofing includes field investigation, reroofing and repair design, design for new construction, and construction phase observation.

Prior to joining WJE, Ms. Drown owned her own practice, where she provided design and construction-related services for clients in the San Antonio region and beyond, with a focus on projects involving earthen construction. She continues to lead the way in this field as vice president of Earthen Construction Initiative (ECI), a nonprofit organization, where she has had a significant impact in changing the City of San Antonio’s building code to include provisions for earthen construction. Through ECI, her involvement includes technical research and developing codes and standards for earthen construction concerning structural and thermal envelope performance.

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS

Building Enclosure Consulting

• TXDOT Campus Consolidation - Austin, TX: Building enclosure peer review and construction administration assistance
• ESC Region 20 - San Antonio, TX: Construction observation for curtain wall replacement
• Schertz Cibolo Universal City Independent School District - TX: Reroofing and repair design for five campuses
• Ladera Elementary School - San Antonio, TX: Design of metal roof for new construction
• University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Graduate Student Research Building: Roof coping renovation for watertightness
• UTSA, Recreation Complex Fieldhouse: Roof coping renovation for watertightness
• Hurricane Harvey Recovery Projects - Rockport, TX: Construction phase observation for multiple roof replacement and repair projects
• Nunatsiavut Weatherization Retrofits - Labrador: Conditions assessment, scope definition, and repair design for thirty dwellings *

 

Architectural Testing and Investigation

• MUSC Children’s Hospital - Charleston, SC: Post-hurricane construction leak investigation and roofing repairs
• Linda Pace Foundation, Ruby City Museum - San Antonio, TX: Construction observation and performance testing of curtain walls
• UTSA, Chaparral Village: Investigation of leakage through masonry- and stucco-clad wall
• Red Roof Plus Hotel - San Antonio, TX: Investigation of moisture infiltration and high humidity in guest rooms

 

Historic Preservation

• Terry Sanford Federal Building - Raleigh, NC: Building enclosure conditions assessment of precast concrete structure
• U.S. Post Office-Courthouse - Charleston, SC: Building enclosure conditions assessment of historic masonry structure
• Elgin County Courthouse - St. Thomas, Ontario: Conservation plan update *
• Centre Block Parliament Building - Ottawa, ON: Heritage envelope rehabilitation involving masonry, copper roofs, windows, and foundation stabilization *

 

Earthen Architecture

• City of San Antonio Earthen Construction Code Amendments - TX: Coauthor of IBC-based code for earthen construction
• Mujer Artes Clay Cooperative - San Antonio, TX: Construction project management and masonry performance for compressed earth block subcontractor *
• Earthen Architecture of South-central Ontario - Greater Toronto Area, ON: Report of findings of more than two hundred 19th- century mud brick (adobe) dwellings *

* Projects with other firms

Professional Affiliations

American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Association of Preservation Technology (APT)
Earthen Construction Initiative (ECI)
Vernacular Architecture Group

Registrations

Architect in TX
 

Education

University of Cincinnati
Bachelor of Science, Architecture, 2007

McGill University
Master of Architecture, 2012