Yes, we’ve read the headline.
Our “In the room” series has taken a look at some of Waterloo’s top R&D spaces and tech organizations.
What’s left? Well, we have a beautiful collection of 360-degree videos highlighting some of the outside spaces that are so important in defining the Waterloo community.
So, let’s use them!
Without further ado, here’s an immersive 360-degree look at five outdoor spaces in Waterloo:
The Innovation District
This intersection is less than a mile from some of Waterloo’s most important tech landmarks.
To the north, you’ll find Google’s rapidly expanding Canadian engineering headquarters.
To the west, you’ll find Communitech, which was one of our featured tech ecosystem organizations.
To the east, you’ll find the future home of the Waterloo Region Transit Hub – a place that will connect rail and bus services with transit, including our new light rail system.
To the south, you’ll find a ton of tech companies, including new unicorns Faire and ApplyBoard, and about one billion dollars in planned commercial and residential development.
David Johnston Research + Technology Park
If you’re a tech company looking to grow, or a company that needs tech expertise in order to thrive, what’s the best place to locate? Right next to Canada’s top technology school – the University of Waterloo.
The David Johnston Research + Technology Park is home to some of the biggest names in technology, including OpenText and SAP, one of the world’s top private business accelerators – the Accelerator Centre – and growing scale-ups like TextNow and SSIMWAVE.
Uptown Waterloo
While it’s hard to tell where Kitchener ends and Waterloo begins, each of our three cities have their own unique character.
In Uptown Waterloo you’ll find research organizations like Perimeter Institute and the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a major Shopify facility, the Communitech Data Hub and open spaces that host events like Oktoberfest and winter skating.
Downtown Kitchener
The second of our city cores to appear on this list, the central part of Downtown Kitchener is just steps from the Innovation District and is a short walk to fast-growing tech companies like Vidyard, as well as larger players like Oracle NetSuite.
This area is also a popular gathering place for events – like Canada Day celebrations – and is a focal point of the world’s second largest Oktoberfest.
The Grand River
The Grand River winds through much of our region, providing opportunities to kayak, canoe and take a lazy tube ride down the longest river in southern Ontario.
This video, however, was taken in Cambridge, the third city on this list, where you’ll find a bustling manufacturing sector that includes global companies like Toyota, and major members of Canada’s largest robotics and automation cluster, including ATS Automation, Eclipse Automation and Mazak.