Facilities

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CIRS is a multi-use space with facilities designed to encourage human interaction, explore new approaches and advance globally-significant sustainability research.

	The Science and Technology Commons Comprised of an entry lobby and a four-story atrium, the Science and Technology Commons, is the core of CIRS. These spaces serve as demonstration area and feature computer work stations and display screens to educate visitors on the building’s water and energy consumption and the sustainability research at CIRS, and encourage them to connect with the space.
	Sustainability Education Resource Centre In this space, located in Science and Technology Commons, undergraduate and graduate students can connect with advisors concerning sustainability courses, programs and extra curricular opportunities. Further, advisors connect students with sustainability experts and CIRS researchers to discuss sustainability issues as they relate to the building and to sustainability in general.
	BC Hydro Theatre Located next to the Commons, the BC Hydro Theatre features advanced visualization and interaction technologies to engage audiences in simulations of sustainability scenarios in Metro Vancouver and beyond. Groups can “fly” to different locations, visualize the neighbourhood now and in the future, and manipulate information using wireless devices connected to large visual display screens in order to consider the potential impacts of climate change, energy use and sustainability. Reconfigurable screens maximize flexibility and allow experimentation with the theatre technology itself.
	Policy Lab With two rooms and a retractable partition wall, this lab is an expandable and flexible space for workshops, focus groups, video conferencing, large group meetings and community engagement research activities. The lab is located close to the BC Hydro Theatre, allowing for interconnected use of the two spaces.
	Building Simulation Software Lab This lab is comprised of two main components, the Computer Simulation Software Research and Development Lab and the Solar Simulation Daylighting Lab, and is used by CIRS researchers and building industry partners to assess and develop building simulation software. The lab is the only one of its kind in Western Canada, since it houses boh day-lighting and solar simulation and analysis research capabilities.
	Solar Simulation Daylighting Lab Located within the Building Simulation Software Lab, the solar lab is devoted to day-lighting and solar simulation and allows CIRS researchers, industry partners and practitioners to explore and study daylight and solar power solutions for buildings.
	Building Monitoring and Assessment Lab This lab is a key research space where building materials and systems continually monitor and test against sustainable performance criteria. The lab also houses the central Building Management System.
	CIRS Lecture Hall (Modern Green Auditorium) This 450-seat lecture hall is managed by UBC Classroom Services, thereby turning CIRS into a major destination for undergraduate students at UBC. The hall is funded jointly by the UBC Office of the Provost and Vice President Academic and the Office of the Vice-President, Students
	CIRS Inhabitants’ space CIRS provides dedicated space for strategic alliance partners, such as BC Hydro, that work on collaborative research projects alongside CIRS researchers. CIRS is also home to several inhabitantsincluding the UBC Sustainability Initiative, Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning, TREK Transportation Planning, Design Centre for Sustainability, UBC Department of Psychology, BC Hydro, Canada Foundation for Innovation UBC Resource Office, and Centre for Sustainability and Social Innovation.
	The Loop Café CIRS is pleased to offer a new UBC Food Services outlet in the Science and Technology Commons area. Not only does the Loop Café serve sustainability-preferred food and coffee, much of it local from UBC Farm, but it also educates visitors and inhabitants around food sustainability issues.