Contemporary architecture often prioritizes rapid construction and short-term trends over long-term performance and adaptability. In our September Lunchtime Lecture, “Architecture Out of Balance,” architect and professor Keith Simon challenges this cycle, urging a shift toward performance-driven design that prioritizes longevity, sustainability, and human experience. Rather than demolishing and rebuilding at speed, this talk calls for a more thoughtful approach; one that values adaptation, environmental responsibility, and the emotional impact of the space we inhabit. By rethinking what makes architecture meaningful, Keith invites designers to restore balance—creating buildings that not only function efficiently, but also endure, connect, and enrich our lives over time.

Simon is a leading architectural strategist and vice president of Design Phase Services at Salas O'Brien, where he specializes in high-performance buildings and the durability and integrity of complex building enclosures. A Certified Passive House Consultant, LEED AP, and Building Enclosure Commissioning Provider, Simon has also spent the past 15 years shaping future practitioners as adjunct faculty at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, teaching courses in environmental controls, building science, sustainability, and design. After earning a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Columbia University, his unconventional path led him from construction work and coffee shops to the Peace Corps, where he managed rural sanitation projects in Bolivia and helped provide earthquake-relief housing in El Salvador through Crisis Corps service. Those experiences shaped his deeply people-centered philosophy of architecture and environmental responsibility — an approach that has since earned widespread recognition, including elevation to Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Simon is also founder and board member of the Austin Building Enclosure Council and chair of the National Institute of Building Sciences’ Building Enclosure Technology and Environment Council executive committee. Despite once being denied admission to UT’s School of Architecture as a student, he has become one of its longtime educators, known for practical, hands-on teaching that connects design to real-world performance and human impact.

The world is transitioning toward greater use of renewable energy sources, but that transition will take time. In the meantime, improving the performance of current energy systems will continue to play an important role in meeting future energy needs and reducing emissions.

Methane emissions are a significant part of emissions from today’s oil and gas supply chains, and reducing those emissions represents one of the most impactful near-term opportunities for improving energy efficiency and system performance. Because methane is also a valuable energy product, reducing methane emissions can help minimize waste while strengthening existing energy systems.

In our November Lunchtime Lecture, Dr. David Allen will explore the methods and technologies used to identify, measure, and mitigate methane emissions across oil and gas supply chains. Topics will include advanced methane measurement networks, strategies for reducing emissions, and recent progress in improving energy system performance.

Allen is the Norbert Dittrich-Welch Chair in Chemical Engineering, and the co-Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of eight books and over 300 papers, primarily in the areas of air quality and energy systems. Dr. Allen has been a lead investigator for multiple air quality measurement studies, including studies of emissions from unconventional oil and gas development. The quality of his work has been recognized by the National Science Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, and the State of Texas. In 2017, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. In 2020, he was recognized with the ENI Energy Transition Award, which has been referred to as the Nobel Prize in energy. He has served on a variety of governmental advisory panels and committees and boards of the US National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. From 2012 to 2015 he chaired the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) and he currently serves on the SAB. He was also part of the National Petroleum Council committee that responded to the Secretary of Energy’s request for information on greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas systems. He has held visiting faculty appointments at the California Institute of Technology, the National University of Singapore, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh.