Stanford Energy Seminar | Building within Planetary Boundaries: Dream or Reality? | Werner Lang, TUM

The Stanford Energy Seminar has been a mainstay of energy engagement at Stanford for nearly 20 years and is one of the flagship programs of the Precourt Institute for Energy. We aim to bring a wide variety of perspectives to the Stanford community – academics, entrepreneurs, utilities, non-profits, and more. 

Talk Abstract

Humanity today faces the unprecedented challenge of staying within the nine planetary boundaries that define a safe operating space for our planet: from greenhouse gases and land use change to freshwater disruption, ocean acidification, and the spread of novel entities. The building sector—responsible for nearly 40% of global CO₂ emissions, 50% of material consumption, and 40% of waste generation—plays a central role in this challenge.

In this talk, Prof. Werner Lang will argue that incremental improvements are no longer enough: “being less bad is not good enough.” Instead, the construction sector must undergo a fundamental transformation that allows buildings and cities to achieve positive ecological footprints. Drawing on case studies and research from his Chair of Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building at the Technical University of Munich, Prof. Lang will present strategies for rethinking the built environment through systemic planning, regenerative design, circular material flows, renewable energy, biodiversity integration, and life cycle assessment. His vision: building as a force for planetary restoration rather than depletion.

Speaker Bio 

Werner Lang is Vice President for Sustainable Transformation and Professor for Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). He is also partner and shareholder at Lang Hugger Rampp Architects in Munich. With degrees from the Technical University of Munich (Dipl.-Ing., Dr.-Ing.) and the University of California, Los Angeles (M. Arch. II, Fulbright Scholar), he has held professorships in Germany and the United States, including the University of Texas at Austin, where he directed the Center for Sustainable Development.

Prof. Lang’s research focuses on energy-efficient and sustainable design, regenerative architecture, and life cycle assessment of buildings. He leads numerous international research projects on circular construction, positive ecological footprint design, and climate-resilient neighborhoods, and has served on scientific boards for global conferences such as PLEA and SBE and serves as expert reviewer for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. His work has been recognized with awards including the Bavarian Energy Award, the TUM Sustainability Award, the International Building Skin-Tech Award, and multiple Best Paper Awards.

As TUM’s Vice President for Sustainable Transformation, Prof. Lang spearheads university-wide initiatives toward sustainability while continuing to shape the international discourse on the future of the built environment.

Anyone with an interest in energy is welcome to join! You can enjoy seminars in the following ways:

• Attend live. The auditorium may change quarter by quarter, so check each seminar event to confirm the location. Explore the current quarter's schedule.
• Watch live in a browser livestream if available. Check each seminar event for its unique livestream URL.
• Watch recordings of past seminars 
  • Available on the Past Energy Seminars page and the Energy Seminars playlist of the Stanford Energy YouTube channel
• (For students) Take the seminar as a 1-unit class (CEE 301/ENERGY 301/MS&E 494)

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