Founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a premier independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in La Jolla, California. In the 1990s, additional facilities on the east side were added to the campus.

The campus was originally designed by noteworthy architect Louis Kahn, known for his simple, platonic forms and compositions. Salk commissioned Kahn to make a beautiful campus in order to draw the best researchers from around the world. Construction began in 1962 and a handful of researchers moved into the first laboratory in 1963. In the 1990s, with Lighting Design Alliance as a consultant, Anshen & Allen was commissioned to add additional buildings housing more laboratories and administrative offices along with a pair of new freestanding two-story structures with public functions to include a 300-seat auditorium, multipurpose meeting rooms, a formal function space, reception, administration and dining facilities.