About us
Egan | Simon Architecture provides architectural and construction industry professional services. Under the leadership of John Egan and Lance Simon, Egan | Simon Architecture has achieved numerous project awards. Established in 1997, Egan | Simon Architecture collaborates with owners, developers, general contractors, and tradespeople on various residential, hospitality, institutional, and commercial projects.
Our commitment to quality design aims to refine and define project goals for an enlightened architectural vision intended to surpass our clients expectations. Egan | Simon Architecture has established a reputation for environmentally responsible designs and sustainable construction techniques.
We have offices located in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.
Egan | Simon Architecture is committed to the goal of working to build, promote, and sustaining a culture of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
LEadership
John S. Egan
As Principal of Egan | Simon Architecture, John provides experience-based leadership in design and construction techniques. He believes in environmentally responsible architecture as evident by his award-winning environmental projects. His team’s practice borrows from past and current technologies to create a progressive architecture that brings balance, harmony and thoughtfulness to the solutions they bring to life.
John attended the prestigious University of Southern California’s School of Architecture. His early influences include endless summer swimming, biking the Mt. Vernon Trail with the cherry blossoms in bloom, observing the Space Shuttle Challenger launch, shortcuts through the lobbies in the Chicago Loop to avoid the winter chill, and being a runner at the commodity pits at the Chicago Board of Trade.
John’s passion for design has manifested in successful architectural works both private and community based. He believes by identifying, considering and responding to the influences of memory, thought, and the experience presented, the solution to most challenges are created.
During his collegiate years, John worked within a grassroots movement seeking a solution to the Southern California Homeless Crisis. Throughout his career, he has continued his efforts to provide socially based architectural solutions for those in need. Notable projects include the Project Angel Food Kitchen, which in 2021 served one million meals to individuals in need; Step-Up on Vine, which offers housing for homeless individuals with persistent and severe mental illness and was architecturally recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council and by the Clinton Global Initiative; the Calvet Kitchen on the West Los Angeles Veterans Campus, which serves meals to over 390 veterans in care; and the Rise Apartments, which provides homes for previously homeless Veterans, and is distinguished by the America Institute of Architect Los Angeles for design excellence.
John’s work in the private sector has been equally well established and recognized. Soon after opening his office, John was selected for the renovation of the prestigious Hotel Bel-Air. The experience of working with a world class team on a legendary property was profound. From meeting expectations to material usage to the attention every detail deserved, the project served as an ideal foundation for the multiple private works he was awarded that followed, including numerous prestigious private residences in Southern California.
John is a past Board member of the USCGBC-LA; a past Board member of the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles, as a representative to the California AIA; a licensed Architect in California and Florida; a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional and registered with the National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB). He is currently participating with the Rotary Club of Downtown Los Angeles Satellite Club Homelessness dedicated to helping provide solutions to those experiencing homelessness.
Lance Simon
Design Principal Lance Simon designs award-winning housing to transform the lives of vulnerable communities. His work has received numerous awards and was recognized by the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative in 2012 for the innovative use of sustainable architecture and green building to create permanent housing for chronically homeless adults struggling with mental illness. To date, he has built over 2,500 units that have positively impacted more than 5,000 military veterans, domestic abuse survivors, homeless, mentally ill, and senior citizens.
Simon’s vision to use design as a means to address inequities was shaped by his experiences growing up in a bi-racial family, giving him empathy toward marginalized groups and sensitivity to cultural differences. His unique approach to building transformative housing for vulnerable communities was also influenced by witnessing the impact of unsafe and unstable living conditions had on the residents of Eastern Kentucky while visiting relatives as a child. The experiences left an impression and led him to architecture at the University of Southern California, where he graduated in 1994.
Prior to launching Egan | Simon Architecture in 2004, he held positions at Richardson Associates Architects, Oppenheim Architecture + Design, and Arquitectonica. During these tenures, Simon’s commitment to transforming communities and unique multicultural perspective is reflected in the construction of the Belfry Library in Pike County, KY, to help the region combat a 26.4% poverty rate and in the restoration of the Royal Palm and Shorecrest Hotels, which became the nation’s first luxury resort owned, operated and managed by African Americans in 2002.
In 2013, Simon was invited by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) to present at Dwell on Design. His address, PRO Bono: How Design is Reinventing Los Angeles, encouraged industry colleagues to join his mission to improve their communities — a calling he strives to achieve personally and professionally every day.
Simon is a member of the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing; National Organization of Minority Architects; the Herman Miller Advisory Council; and the U.S. Green Building Council. He serves on Shelter Partnership’s Board of Directors and is an advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles City Council, and other government organizations. In his spare time, Simon enjoys trail running, playing softball, partaking in fine wines and distilled beverages, and cooking.
René Rodriguez
René is responsible for directing and managing operations for the Egan | Simon Architecture studio which encompasses a wide range of activities, providing leadership, and expertise in support of a human-centric design vision.
For over 21 years, René has been involved in the realm of community based architecture with a strong focus on affordable housing. He is dedicated to exploring the possibilities of sustainability on the built environment with a focus on pragmatic and affordable methodologies to provide a truly holistic environmental design approach addressing the natural, social and economic environment.
René received a Master of Architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from The University of Puerto Rico. His studies focused on the intersection between sustainable and social architecture within the existing urban fabric.
René is often sought as a technical design resource by organizations such as the Southern California Association for Nonprofit Housing, U.S. Green Building Council, U.S. Green Building, Los Angeles Chapter, and Enterprise Community Partners. Through these organizations, he has participated in numerous panels and workshops to promote socially responsible architecture and the benefits of sustainable design and construction.
René is currently active as co-founder of the American Institutes of Architects – Los Angeles, Latin Americans in Architecture.
