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Jaime Ramiro Diaz

Jaime Ramiro Diaz, AIA, LEED AP (Rami) is an architect and urban design leader of Waggonner & Ball’s resilience and Living With Water® practice. Rami is a client liaison, senior project designer, and collaboration leader for climate adaptation projects across the country, including the Dutch Dialogues®, the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, Gentilly Resilience District, Norfolk Ohio Creek NDR, and Resilient Hampton. A frequent lecturer and tour leader, they are expert at integrating architecture, landscape, and water system challenges into pictures that suggest innovative solutions and capture the spirit of place.


Rami was a key part of the firm’s leadership in developing the Living With Water® movement in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In the Dutch Dialogues® New Orleans effort, Rami led site visits and research as well as design workshops, collaborating with a large, international, multidisciplinary team of experts. Building on expertise developed in Dutch Dialogues®, Rami helped lead research and authorship of the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, a regional scale vision for sustainable and resilient water management for the metro area. The Plan catalyzed a paradigm shift in understanding risk, flooding, and how stormwater is managed.


Rami also leads the firm’s Living With Water® effort on the East Coast, with a focus on Virginia. Starting with the Dutch Dialogues® Virginia workshops, Rami has led research, analysis, and resilience planning work in multiple coastal cities in the Hampton Roads region, including Hampton, Norfolk, and Chesapeake. Rami is San Francisco native, with deep family roots in Northern California.

  • Contact
    RAMIRO@WBAE.COM
  • ROLE
    URBAN DESIGN DIRECTOR
  • STAFF SINCE
    2004
  • EDUCATION
    M. ARCH, TULANE UNIVERSITY
    RONALD KATZ THESIS AWARD
  • REGISTERED IN
    Louisiana
  • PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS
    AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS
    BOARD PRESIDENT, GROUNDWORK NEW ORLEANS
    BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENTS
  • SELECTED PROJECTS
    NORFOLK NDR: OHIO CREEK WATERSHED RESILIENCE; NORFOLK, VA

    GREATER NEW ORLEANS URBAN WATER PLAN; NEW ORLEANS, LA

    DUTCH DIALOGUES®; NEW ORLEANS, LA

    ST PAUL’S BLUE/GREENWAY; NORFOLK, VA

    MIRABEAU WATER GARDEN; NEW ORLEANS, LA

    REBUILD BY DESIGN: BRIDGEPORT; BRIDGEPORT, CT