Institute of Asian Research
The Institute of Asian Research (IAR) at the University of British Columbia is a research institute founded in 1978 and has been the foremost research centre in Canada for the inter-disciplinary study of Asia. With a broad geographic reach extending to China, India and South Asia, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia, the institute conducts research and teaching in policy-relevant issues informed by language and area studies. The institute's Master of Public Policy and Global Affair] program is a professional global public policy program with particular expertise in Asia Pacific and sustainability policies. The  program provides policy makers and future leaders with multidisciplinary policy analysis and design skills and subject-specific expertise in development, sustainability, and global governance. Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs Program. UBC's Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs is a graduate program that provides a path for management roles in international institutions, companies, non-governmental organizations and various levels of government in all parts of the world. C. K. Choi Building. 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 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.