The Institute is housed in the purpose-built C. K. Choi Building in the northwest quadrant of the UBC campus. Designed by Matsuzaki Wright Architects of Vancouver, B.C., and completed in 1995, the building has been recognized for its leading-edge sustainable design. It is the University of British Columbia's "flagship environmental building" in what is calls its ‘living laboratory’, the campus used to showcase "innovative approaches to conserving energy, water and materials, while striving to make positive impacts on the environment."
The building is named after Dr. Cheung-Kok Choi, a businessman and philanthropist in China, Hong Kong and Canada, and a major donor to UBC. The building houses the Institute's five research centres which focus on China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and India and South Asia. The "daringly innovative architecture" integrates cultural expression, interior and exterior architectural presence, together with environmental features and functions. The five identical curved roof forms reflect the Institute's Asian focus, providing an identifiable focus for each research centre without giving predominance to one culture or centre over another, and provide natural light and natural ventilation to interior spaces.
Read more about this topic: Institute Of Asian Research
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