University officials celebrated the opening of the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB) on April 13. The $47-million facility houses the Brain and Mind Institute, BrainsCAN and the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, as well as five general-use classroom and study spaces. Certified LEED Gold, the seven-storey, state-of-the-art building contains dry laboratories, teaching and research space, classrooms and a public plaza within its 118,000 square feet.
“Western recognizes that many of the significant problems facing humanity today are enormously complex, and that the greatest advances made in solving them often emerge at the boundaries and intersection of traditional disciplines,” Western President Amit Chakma said. “Our response to this reality has been to promote collaboration and to build operational capacity for interdisciplinary research through a series of strategic investments in selective areas of excellence. WIRB will generate an extraordinary return on those investments by providing the infrastructure we need to conduct truly world-class research and scholarship across multiple disciplines.”
