MaRS Centre wins intelligent building of the year

Toronto, ON – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) announced MaRS Centre as the winner of its Intelligent Building of the Year at the annual Intelligent Community of the Year Awards in New York City on Friday, June 9.

MaRS Centre was selected among three finalists that included the University of Sherbrooke, QC, and Ballantyne Village, Charlotte, NC, which represented a North American sweep of the category. ICF cited MaRS as a development that would feed innovation and economic progress for the community.

The Intelligent Community Forum (www.intelligentcommunity.org) is a global think tank, formed by World Teleport Association in 2000, that focuses on the uses of broadband and information technology for economic development by communities large and small. Its annual awards give a significant profile to communities leading the way in the digital age.

MaRS Discovery District says it aims to improve commercial outcomes from Canada’s foundation of science and technology innovation to position Ontario and Canada as powerful and competitive players in the global knowledge economy. It is leading the new field of convergence innovation by connecting and fostering collaboration between the communities of science, business and capital through co-location in the MaRS Centre, catalytic programs and structured networks that extend virtually through its web portal.

Partnering with industry leaders such as APC, Apple, Applied Electronics, Bell Canada, Christie Digital, Harman Pro Group, Nortel, Sun Microsystems, Samsung and Tandberg, MaRS Centre is the first building of its kind to leverage emerging IP based technologies to offer a fully connected community for tenants located physically in the building and to a broader stakeholder community connected virtually over broadband networks. The MaRS Collaboration Centre conference facility located within MaRS Centre is the first venue of its kind to adopt a fully converged audiovisual infrastructure that allows anywhere/anytime access and control using a local or wide area IP network. Additionally, MaRS will anchor the rollout of a Discovery District-wide wireless network.

“MaRS is growing technology-based companies and fostering the ecosystem in which such companies flourish. By integrating emerging technologies into the foundation of the MaRS Centre, we are pushing the boundaries of convergence and the use of technology as a true collaboration platform in a way that is unique in the world,” says Dr Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of MaRS Discovery District.