The facility that started it all back in 2009: Brooklyn Boulders (BKB) original Gowanus location. Set right in the heart of Brooklyn, this BKB facility was home-grown and launched the BKB brand into success by tapping into a previously ignored urban population looking for a unique climbing experience. When you go to BKB you are not just a climbing gym member, you are part of a dedicated community built to inspire you to do awesome things. This diverse community opens you up to challenge yourself in every way possible, be it physically, emotionally or mentally. At Brooklyn Boulders you’ll find unconventional experiences through fitness, art and events that engage imagination, passion and physical potential. This facility specifically features over 22,000 square feet of climbing surface, with a newly renovated rope climbing area built by Vertical Solutions.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Building a climbing community in Brooklyn is easier said than done when space is at a premium. Unlike the name suggests, the OG facility boasts thousands of route climbing square feet.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A favorite feature amongst BKB's dedicated bouldering climbers, this high-angle wall creates an intimidating challenge, regardless of the route difficulty. From this angle you can see how custom paint, be it on climbing walls or brick walls, was important to the BKB brand.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Another grand view of the finished product. Vertical Solutions unique wood walls can really make your indoor climbing gym stand out amongst a crowd, as seen here. These walls replaced more dated, owner-built walls that eventually ran their course.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Vertical Solutions MLM geometric walls are used throughout the facility for both bouldering and route climbing, giving a good mix of challenging areas at various angles.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Habit Flooring systems are used throughout the BKB facility to arrest falling climbers even during moves like these. Habit Flooring is engineered specifically to your wall heights to keep climbers safe and reduce potential for injury at your facility.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Lots of light from the inside allows the climbing going on inside to be visible from the outside. This facility is meant to be used, but also gawked at by passers-by.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A closer view of the newly renovated indoor route climbing walls from Vertical Solutions. Hard to see from this angle but the custom black stain highlights a crafty overhung feature.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: The view from the front of the iconic BKB arches that mimic the famous bridge features. As soon as you enter, you are immediately aware that this place is special.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A wide-angle view of a large section of the newly-renovated route climbing walls. Vertical Solutions designed, manufactured, and completed the installation of this entire project in only nine weeks, all during winter holidays!
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Unsurprisingly, most BKB members are committed to the urban lifestyle which involves commuting on your bike or via public transportation. Every BKB facility has special consideration for this as seen here with one of the many bike racks available for members.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Bouldering is a large part of the facility with many of the climbing walls having been built by VS and using custom stains and paints. These walls stand the test of time and despite the angle in this picture, they offer flowy ARC curves or MLM geometric panels depending on which bouldering area you are in.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A more obvious view of the overhung angle built into the Vertical Solutions-designed rope-climbing area. Using custom stains and the MLM geometric panel manufacturing process, you can create interesting features that are also visually appealing.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: The iconic arches at BKB were integral to the owners' original vision for the facility to create a truly local brand.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A head-on view of the newly-renovated route climbing walls that Vertical Solutions worked tirelessly against a tight deadline to complete; all without causing a gym-closure.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: The facility has multiple rooms and every square inch is used to give their climbing community the most options for working themselves out physically, mentally, and emotionally. This Vertical Solutions-built wall is one of many in the facility.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: No climbing facility would be completed without the proper training and strengthening tools available for members.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A View from the back of the facility where the original owner-built walls are still providing climbers with fresh routes.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: The first climbing wall you are greeted with upon entering, BKB made sure to have their branding heavily integrated on walls, volumes, and within design features.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A view of one of the original owner-built bouldering wall areas in the rear of the facility that still stands today. These walls have seen some serious usage! While their condition doesn't hold up quite as well as the ones built by Vertical Solutions, it continues to be a popular area of the facility.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: BKB opened their doors in 2009, building a premier climbing facility in the old Daily News garage in the Gowanus neighborhood.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A closer view through the front entrance showing just how vast the interior climbing and fitness space is.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: More examples of why the BKB brand is so strong and unique in each community. This facility was the spawn of that area-specific focus they capture at each location.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: An up-close view of the grains and clear texture applied to Vertical Solutions MLM geometric panel climbing walls, built from real hardwood, in the newly-renovated route climbing area.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Hard to believe that you can get such height out of indoor climbing in a massively-dense area like NYC. But when properly-planned and executed as this project was in just nine weeks, the result can be stunning and stand the test of time.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A wide angle view from the dihedral built into the route climbing area, showing the bouldering areas on the left and right, as well as the front desk, strength-training and cardio workout areas.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A view down one of the top-rope walls built by Vertical Solutions, into the strength-training rooms. Space is hard to come by in New York City, but BKB made sure that eery area was used efficiently while still allowing enough space to not feel totally cramped during peak hours.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A great example of what is possible for existing gyms that need renovations: This entire roped climbing area project was conceived, designed, manufactured, and installed in a total of nine weeks by Vertical Solutions and the BKB team. Not to mention this included the time it took to demo the original owner-built climbing walls.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: For this special bouldering area, the space was maximized to create a peninsula of walls combining both ARC (curved) and MLM (geometric) wall design/manufacturing styles.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: This view shows some of the original owner-built rope climbing walls, including the back side of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge climbing feature.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Beginner and intermediate bouldering members get their own dedicated space to familiarize themselves without being overwhelmed by others above their skill level. This Vertical Solutions-built wall is coupled with Habit Flooring system for a complete package.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Vertical Solutions MLM geometric climbing walls can seamlessly transition between angles, custom-paint schemes, hardwood-inlay features, and top-coat textures so you can adapt your space to exactly how you want it to be.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: The team at BKB works with Vertical Solutions to always place community building and inviting spaces at the top of the priority list. This is a perfect example of how, with this are created for climbers to engage with each other and discuss problem-sending.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: From this angle you can see how precise the seams and panel joints come together on Vertical Solutions' MLM geometric climbing walls. No room for error here, our construction method would instantly reveal anything less than perfection.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Another view of the entry bouldering peninsula built from both MLM and ARC climbing wall styles, and the Habit Flooring system that protects climbers from injuries.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Upon first entering the original BKB climbing facility, inside is blended with outside, and you are greeted with interior walls filled with colorful art done by local artists.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Just beyond the first bouldering peninsula and front desk/staff area, the facility opens up to reveal some impressively high lead and top-rope climbing walls, recently renovated by Vertical Solutions to match walls built at other BKB facilities.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: When you have an intricate exposed roof interior and need your climbing walls to extend all the way up, Vertical Solutions can come up with graceful design solutions that are aesthetically pleasing while incorporating as much functionality as safely possible.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Habit Flooring systems are integral to the safety of the BKB facilities in every city. After a three-month comparison, Habit Flooring lowered the injury count by 30% in this NYC facility alone. Habit systems are hands-down the best on the market, and best-looking!
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Another view of the multi-angle MLM climbing wall area that is completely guarded by the Habit bouldering flooring system. BKB was keen to incorporate a tasteful amount of custom wood stains and paints in their climbing wall designs to match the colorful artwork on all of their interior walls.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: Another beautiful and intricate example of an interior mural dedicated to the local community that the facility serves. A tremendous amount of time was needed by many local artists to make the BKB brand what it is today in multiple cities.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: From the outside it is hard to imagine how much space really is inside and how open it actually feels while there. The front desk is sizable without impeding on members ability to get into the bouldering areas, shop for gear, check out the sustenance options, or head to the personal training VIP area.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: When you need to renovate all of your walls, or even just a section large or small, you can easily merge them with existing building and climbing wall features. This example here completed during a nine-week project, turned out fantastic.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A wider view of the first of many bouldering areas, front entrance, and front desk area of the massive BKB facility in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn. The building has great natural light features that keep it well lit throughout the day.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: A peek inside the training areas for climbing and strength improvement. These spaces could have easily been maxed out with equipment but reservation was exercised to not overload the space to create a cramped feel.
Brooklyn Boulders - NYC/Brooklyn: From the bottom of the lead climbing wall, the overhung angle designed-in is relatively intimidating but manageable. Heading all the way to the roof is no easy task. In the light reflections of this picture, you can see the custom clear wall textures Vertical Solutions coats our walls with to prevent holds from spinning.
