The Liu Institute for the Study of Global Issues was the second green building to be built at the University of British Columbia's Point Grey Campus. It houses a one-storey seminar wing with conference rooms and reception area and a three-storey research wing with private offices, library and board rooms. The design process involved a daylong 'project alignment' workshop during which the design team identified 60 sustainable targets for the project. The Liu Institute was designed to be 55% more efficient than the Model National Energy Code. Passive ventilation and cooling, a high-performance building envelope, and energy modeling helped to attain this energy reduction goal. Effective daylight strategies, occupancy sensors and photosensors reduce lighting loads. In order to reduce site disturbance the Liu was built on the footprint of a decommissioned student residence (Pan-Hellenic House) and its former parking lot. Low flow plumbing fixtures reduce water consumption and native plant landscaping eliminates irrigation requirements.