Interview 002– Adam Fidler
Adam Fidler - Climbing Wall Designer, UK
Please could you tell us about yourself, where are you based, and what do you do in your role?
Hi, I'm Adam Fidler, I'm a climbing wall designer and a head routesetter with twenty years of climbing experience. I'm based in London, a stone's throw from the Castle climbing centre.
For my wall design role, I run a design consultancy, called Adam Fidler Creations, that works with climbing wall owners (current and future) and wall builders such as Renegade (UK), Benky (DE) and Strata (UK). I have designed a number of climbing centres in the UK and Europe, including the Fonts in London, a number of the recent Hangars around the UK and Sundsvalls Klatterhall in Sweden. Effectively, I am an architect for climbing centres. I design with a holistic view to how climbers experience the centre and sport and how the wall shape and angles affect routesetting and climber safety. This is paired with thinking about how layout affects the overall experience of customers and staff, whether that is creating a spacious feeling in climbing areas or finding pragmatic locations for reception, cafe, storage, training and changing rooms. To do this, I use a 3D modelling software and work alongside my clients through all phases of the design process; from the speculative phase where I provide sketch designs to assist clients in choosing suitable sites, or support wall builders when bidding for projects; to the complete final product, where I fully design walls, provide technical drawings, and coordinate with other service designers (e.g. lighting, HVAC, etc.)
How would you describe the state of the climbing industry in your country, and how do you see it evolving in the next few years?
Over the last few years the climbing industry in the UK has undergone an unprecedented boom. However, presently, I think that expansion has slowed down, due to the increase of building and operational costs, which is a result of overinflation and the Ukraine war reducing the availability of building supplies. The increase in costs has led to a trend where new centres opening are predominantly from climbing wall chains, and we are seeing fewer from independent owners. To combat the rising costs, I predict the industry will see an increase of funding over the next few years, thanks to the recent success of our athletes at the Paris Olympics. In the UK, currently, the majority of centres are retrofits of existing buildings such as warehouses, but I think if the sport receives additional funding from UK Sport, Sport England and private sources this will allow the UK to build purpose built mega climbing centres already seen in other countries, such as Kletterzentrum Innsbruck or DAV Thalkirchen.
Another phenomenon we are seeing in the UK is where climbing centres are opened in close proximity to one another and therefore are competing for the same pool of customers. I predict that in these cases, these walls will need to create unique selling points to draw in customers. Such as investing in high quality climbing walls and facilities, fostering an engaging community and/or improved routesetting. In these situations, the hope is that both walls will be driven to improve.
As an established wall designer with several premium centres seen through to completion, what would you identify as common design and build errors that prospective operators should be aware of?
In my opinion, one of the most common errors I come across from clients of all sizes is the belief that maximising climbing wall surface = more customers. From my experience, this isn't true for two reasons:
In climbing sessions, we often see climbers spend the majority of their time resting and socialising. The space off the mats can hold more customers per m2 than the space on the mats, which usually also needs to be empty to be a safe fall zone for whoever is climbing, this is especially important for busy climbing walls.
Customers enjoy a spacious feeling when they are in a climbing centre as they like to be able to sit and socialise, and feel like they are safe from being fallen on.
My background in architecture leads me to value non-climbing space, so I choose to charge a day rate instead of by m2 of climbing surface which is common in the wall building industry. This means that I can focus on providing the highest quality climbing centres that feel comfortable without the need to add unnecessary unfunctional sections of climbing wall into a design.
I think another common error is a failure to look at climbing features and wall angles from a routesetters perspective.
When designing wall features, it's important to make sure there are no angle changes which are too sharp. Sharp angles in the wall face, on aretes or at corners force particular climbing movement and can make that section of wall less versatile.
When designing wall angles, it's important to strike a good balance. The majority of customers (particularly newer climbers) are attracted to slab, vert and slight overhang, but a large minority (usually more experienced and regular customers) are attracted to steeper sections. Therefore, deciding where these different walls are located, affects which areas of the centre will become congested, and which will be under utilised.
What would be your dream build, if a customer came to you with an unlimited budget and blank plot of land?
It's hard to say what my dream wall would look like, because honestly I love working on walls of all shapes and sizes. I enjoy the challenge of making the climbing wall fit the space I've been given and I like finding clever ways for the walls to intersect with quirky building features. For example, at Rhino Boulder (Bromley), the 'Big in Japan' section is designed with really steep angles to make the most use of the low sloped roof above it. Beyond the walls, my dream project would be integrated with its local community to introduce climbing to people of diverse backgrounds. Here are some ideas of how I think that could look.
Having a street facing cafe/bar area where people can relax or work from even if they are not a member of the climbing community.
Integrating multipurpose rooms for children's parties on weekends which double up as affordable rentable spaces for local community groups.
Providing an accessible climbing programme to help underprivileged children and young adults discover climbing.
Making the space around the gym public outdoor spaces with outdoor climbing walls as a visual focus.
What are some obvious areas of weakness in the industry in your area of expertise; are there a lack of qualified people, is there a defined pathway into what you do, are there any development opportunities?
Wall design is a particularly niche area of the climbing industry, which makes it tricky to break into. I used my architecture background to help me get my first opportunity, when I heard that Jon Partridge planned to open Hang (London) and I offered to design it for him. Opportunities like this are hard to come by. Another weakness in the industry is the difficulty of demonstrating the value of investing in high quality wall design. Most wall manufacturers include wall design as part of their offering, but to varying levels of quality. If you go directly to a wall manufacturer you won't necessarily know who your designer is. Which is why I think there is value in working directly with a wall designer, as we can offer a more bespoke service, and guaranteed standard of design. I also think it's important to work with a designer whose product you trust, because I have seen design and detailing errors made by major wall manufacturers which leave their clients with an inferior product. Such as creating dangerous wall angles, installing the wrong kind of t-nuts or not sanding corners. This is why I choose to work with wall builders who have excellent standards; like Tom at Renegade who has an incredible eye for detail and professional work ethic.
What advice would you give to a new climbing wall business that has just signed for their first property?
If you are starting a new climbing wall business a good choice of site is paramount. The site's location is the most important factor.
Is it easily accessible by car or public transport?
What is the demographic in your catchment area?
Do you have competition nearby?
Is it street facing, for walk-in trade?
What changes are expected in that area over the next 5 years
The other important factor is suitability for climbing walls. An ideal site has unobstructed floor to ceiling height 4.8m or more without columns in the middle, but generally 4.3m is the minimum you can work with, and the site needs to have around 5m width for each row of climbing walls. My other advice would be to identify your own weaknesses and hire staff who can cover these areas.
How can people find you if they’d like to learn more and get in touch?
Examples of my builds and more details can be found on my website www.adamfidlercreations.com
I can also be contacted by email on adamlaurencefidler@gmail.com
Examples of my routesetting can be found on instagram @problems_with_fid
