For us, “burning the midnight oil” is about hard work and leaving the light on for one another.
MIDNIGHT OIL is a general contracting company that specializes in custom homebuilding and fabrication. We are native to Texas and operational in other regions.
Our team manages residential construction projects with clarity and steady attention. We know each site, each drawing, every tradesperson, and we stay in it from start to finish. We care about how things are built and how it feels to build them.
The quality of our relationships is exceptional.
The quality of our work is exceptional.
We’re selective about the projects we accept and we typically manage only two or three projects at a time. This allows for consistent on-site presence plus superior quality control and coordination.
Our owner—and many of our project managers—have backgrounds in architectural design, which guides our ethos and helps us collaborate naturally with architects. We speak the same professional language, we respect creative vision and composition, and we’re fluent in the softwares that drive good design. We believe that our credentials are an asset in our industry, particularly when working as part of a team.
We use a cost-plus fee structure, we carry robust insurance policies, and our contracts are promulgated by the Texas Association of Builders. We keep project accounting transparent and fully accessible to our clients.
We want to provide you with safety, light, and warmth at home.
Lowe Jones, Founder & Owner
Lowe grew up in Austin, Texas. Her earliest memories include walking construction sites with her father, who worked as a framer at the start of his career. For Lowe, those experiences sparked an interest in building and design.
She left Austin to study policy at Duke University. During college, she took a two-year leave from school to live and work in Mendoza, Argentina. There, she lived with an Argentine architect and learned to speak Spanish fluently—a skill that serves her on job sites today.
After graduating, Lowe returned to Austin and began her career in green building policy at the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems—an organization affectionately known as “The Center.” The Center’s conceptual framework shaped Austin’s pioneering Green Building Program, which in turn played a foundational role in the development of LEED and the USGBC. The Center continues to test forward-thinking programs that integrate air, water, food, energy, and materials to support healthier, more sustainable communities.
Under the guidance of a mentor at The Center, Lowe also learned to work with wood and metal. She gained welding and carpentry experience that would become central to her practice. This formative season led Lowe to pursue a Master’s in Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin.
Lowe went on to work at two boutique, high-end architecture firms before founding her own practice, Fourth Workshop. Today, Fourth Workshop remains active and was recently featured on the cover of Luxe Magazine. Ultimately, Lowe prefers being on the job site with her team and with her clients, managing hands-on work. Midnight Oil is her full-time pursuit, and Lowe looks forward to bringing her expertise to your next construction project.
Joemy Buschur, Business Development
Joemy identifies strategic opportunities to grow Midnight Oil’s partner and client base. With ten years of experience in architecture and landscape architecture, she is interested in shaping long-term values at MOC. Joemy believes in human relationships over the long haul.
Katielea Conwell, Operations
Katielea builds smart, scalable systems that make work easier for clients, teams, and projects. With deep experience in operations leadership, she’s skilled at solving logistical puzzles and connecting field and administrative functions. Known for her sharp communication, she thrives in collaborative environments where she can keep complex processes moving smoothly and efficiently.
