Iron Mountain & CyArk Join Forces To Digitally Preserve Fort York

by Iron Mountain
October 4, 2017

Preservation project for national heritage site will use 3D laser scanning and cutting-edge virtual reality technology

TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A beautiful historic site that has stood the test of time, Fort York is laden with rich Canadian history dating back to the late 1700s. To ensure future generations can continue to experience and learn about the extensive history of this monumental site, Iron Mountain Incorporated® (NYSE: IRM) and CyArk will bring this physical landmark into the digital age, preserved in an online virtual library along with other world heritage sites. In addition, as part of the project, groundbreaking virtual reality technology will transform Fort York into a living legacy in honour of Canada's 150th anniversary.

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Iron Mountain Incorporated, the global leader in storage and information management services, in partnership with CyArk, is committed to ensuring that heritage sites are preserved through fully rendered, three-dimensional modelling, providing people from across the world a unique opportunity to virtually visit landmarks, such as Fort York, in the years to come.

CyArk is an international nonprofit organization that uses 3D laser scanning, photogrammetry, and traditional survey techniques to create an online, 3D library of the world's cultural heritage sites before they are lost to natural disasters, destroyed by human aggression, or ravaged by the passage of time.  Iron Mountain's collaboration with CyArk began in 2013, providing a combination of financial support and data backup and secure preservation services for "gold" copies of all of data from CyArk's digital scans in its underground storage facility, ensuring the critical data is safe forever. Past projects include the preservation of Lukang Longshan Temple in Taiwan; the Washington Monument in Washington, DC; the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; and now Fort York.

"Part of our mandate is to ensure cultural heritage sites are available for future generations to experience, while making them uniquely accessible today," said John Ristevski, CEO, CyArk. "Thanks to the generous support from Iron Mountain, we have access to the resources needed to make the vision of preserving Fort York a reality. In a year where Canada is celebrating such an important historical anniversary, this is an exciting next step towards conserving a significant piece of the nation's history."

In celebration of Canada's 150th anniversary, Iron Mountain and CyArk specifically selected Fort York to be part of this innovative preservation initiative. By transferring the original War of 1812 brick and mortar battle site to an online platform, people from all over the world will have the opportunity to experience this monument first-hand for generations to come.

"Iron Mountain, through its Living Legacy Initiative, is thrilled to again partner with CyArk to bring Canadian heritage to the forefront of the digital landscape," said Brian Rosen, senior vice president and general manager, Iron Mountain Canada. "Our partnership with CyArk helps us extend our role as a trusted guardian with expertise in, and services for, protecting and preserving valuable data and information. Fort York will be a monumental addition to CyArk's virtual library. Once complete, this project will allow individuals to take part in an immersive experience where they can literally step into a three-dimensional (3D) Fort York."

The Fort York preservation project will take place over the next week as CyArk and Iron Mountain collect and store 3-D imagery that will ultimately allow anyone in the world to experience its rich history in an entirely new way.

About CyArk
CyArk is a non profit organization founded in 2003 to digitally record, archive and share the world's cultural heritage and ensure that these places continue to inspire wonder and curiosity for decades to come. Since inception we have recorded over 200 monuments on all 7 continents. We assist those who work to manage and preserve these sites by providing engineering drawings and detailed maps to assist in critical conservation work and active management. We archive the data using state of the art processes to ensure that this data continues to be available in a disaster recovery scenario, tomorrow or decades in the future. And we strive to share this data in powerful ways, including truly immersive experiences that convey the power of these places, transporting users that may never have a chance to experience them and inspiring others to make the journey.

About Iron Mountain Incorporated
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 230,000 organizations around the world, Iron Mountain boasts a real estate network of more than 85 million square feet across more than 1,400 facilities in 52 countries dedicated to protecting and preserving what matters most for its customers. Iron Mountain's solutions portfolio includes records managementcloud servicesdata managementdocument managementdata centersart storage and logistics, and secure shredding to help organizations to lower storage costs, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and better use their information. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of information assets, including critical business documents, electronic information, medical data and cultural and historical artifacts. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information.