B1+ SITE PROJECT- EXPANSION OF THE ARCH CLIMBING WALL FACILITY

by Angela Brown

Expansion of a leisure / sports indoor climbing facility for The Arch Climbing Wall Ltd in Bermondsey, South East London. Facility expansion is from the existing 4,500 square metres to 18,000. Facility is four storeys with bouldering available on each floor and rope climbing in two areas (south elevation four storeys high with competition viewing area) and an additional rope climbing area at the west elevation under an extended lightwell. Floorplan includes reception, gym, yoga studio, locker room, and retail on the ground floor and cafe located on the south terrace. Mezzanine floors were incorporated into the plant room and offices to maximise storage space utilising the high ceilings. Facility is combined into one building which was enabled by rerouting external fire escape for adjoining building. Construction utilises a steel frame supporting the building inside the existing brick wall. Consideration has been made to minimize reliance on concrete in the spirit of the brief requiring demountable construction for the rope climbing provision in order to enable conversion to office/retail space.