Polour Rock Climbing Hall

What seems to be a gigantic, warmly-illuminated form in the middle of the rocky lands of Mazandaran is a 4,500-sqm rock climbing gym designed by New Wave Architecture.

Nestled within the snowy Mount-Damavand Region of Iran, a site context mostly covered in snow throughout the whole year led to a design concept inspired by the Earth’s tectonic movements. A fragmented mass then morphs into multi-faceted, triangular entities pushing itself out of its layers, rises, and gradually retreating against a mountainous backdrop.

Visual openings on the building shell invite in natural lighting and provide landscape views with an overlooking view of the country’s highest peak. An outer skin of white fiber cement panels covers the building, unifying its snowy context while offering outdoor routes.

A functional configuration fragments the interiors into three main zones of sports, hospitality, and maintenance. Visual cues associated with the morphing fenestrations were used to establish privacy levels. In public spaces such as the lobby, restaurant, and the main climbing hall, transparent incisions were used to easily identify access points. Bouldering hall, temporary accommodation zone, fitness gyms, and maintenance areas are enclosed by boulder-like walls. The rest of the development was then illuminated by small, triangular openings punctured against its massive walls.

The Polour Rock Climbing Hall serves as a design achievement showcasing how a natural-based form can morph into the site’s conditions and of its site context. Its massive architecture highlighted by its landscape demonstrates how a concept can manifest as a form, nature, and activity.