Climbing Barn

Lansing, NY

Addition to the Community Recreational Center (The Field and the Rink)

Climbing gyms are often housed in industrial buildings, and this addition to the existing pair of sprawling prefabricated metal sheds follows this tradition. Given its location in the rural farming area where the barn typology is ubiquitous, the new gymnasium for climbing and bouldering (a newly minted Olympic sport) is a combination of an industrial Shed and an agrarian Barn. Combining prefabricated structural elements and consideration of the various historic barn roof profiles led to a hybrid building section that allowed for a variety of climbing surfaces on the interior and a striking exterior presence in an otherwise flat landscape dominated by open fields and a parking lot.

The new Climbing Barn is structured with 7 rigid frames, constructed from off-the shelf light-gauge steel roof trusses, achieving the variation in climbing surface by alternating peaks and valleys on either side of the building without adding the cost of custom-fabricated structural components. Like many new barns in the area, it is sided with red corrugated metal panels with a local detail – skylights punched out form the east wall covered with fiberglass panels of matching profile. The end walls composed of fiberglass panels (Kalwall) are inset into the building to create sheltered entrance and a possibility of adding exterior climbing surfaces. The Climbing Barn shares a party wall with the new Link building – a two story structure that houses offices, bathrooms, mechanical, storage and a multi-purpose room; the Link then connects the new Barn to the existing metal buildings of this sports and recreation complex.