Laura R. Oatman, AIA, LEED AP
Laura Oatman’s architectural career combines over 25-years experience in design, development and construction management of high-end hospitality projects, including resort and urban hotels with particular emphasis on boutique hotels, spas and restaurants with a unique combination of high-end luxury and sustainable green design. In addition to providing architectural design as a principal with Oatman Architects, Laura is also the principal and founder of Laura Oatman, Architects, Inc. providing project management and consulting services for hospitality development and management companies.
Prior to the establishment of Oatman Architects, Inc. Laura was Design Director for the Kor Hotel Group. In that capacity she was directly responsible for several international and domestic projects, including the Anguilla Spa and Spa Village, the Tides South Beach Hotel, the Tides Meads Bay Resort Hotel, the Tides Zihuatanejo Resort Hotel, as well as Kor Group’s LA based hotel renovations – the Viceroy Santa Monica, the Chamberlain, the Avalon and the Maison 140 in Beverly Hills.
While at the Kor Group, Laura assisted in the development of the Viceroy and Tides hotel brands and authored the Kor Hotel Group Design Guidelines. She also managed the interior design for many of the Kor projects with its preferred interior designer, Kelly Wearstler (KWID). Laura was also the founding board member for Kor’s green initiatives program, Second Nature. When The Kor Group transitioned from hotel development to hotel management, Laura transitioned from providing design and construction management, to technical services consulting, working with Related Group on the LEED-Silver Viceroy Snowmass project in Aspen, Colorado and with the Indochina Group on the Viceroy China Beach in Vietnam. Laura continues to consult with the Kor Hotel Group on various international and domestic hotel projects.
Prior to entering the hotel development field, Laura was a designer and project manager with WATG Architects, Ltd. the internationally-renowned hospitality architecture group. While at WATG, Laura worked on a wide variety of hotel projects, from the luxurious Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel and the Four Seasons Newport Beach, to the exotic Pacific Islands Clubs in Guam and Saipan and her first “green” hotel, the Quinta Do Lorde Resort on the island of Madeira, Portugal which received an AIA Design Award for Excellence. Her final project with WATG was the Viceroy Anguilla Resort in the British West Indies before joining the Kor Hotel Group.
Laura received her undergraduate education at UC Irvine where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences. It was here that she first developed her interest in holistic health and wellness, and the impact of the environment on psychology and well being. She received her Master of Architecture from the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UCLA. Her graduate thesis at UCLA was the design of a “green hotel” along a natural strip of Newport Beach coastline.
Laura is a registered architect in the State of California, and a LEED accredited professional.