When Mesa Rim Climbing Gym broke ground on their newest Climbing and Fitness Centre in San Diego, California, their goal was to create a destination indoor rock-climbing gym by remodelling an existing vacant building.

The design team’s main goal was to bring the outdoors inside to simulate wilderness climbing. “Bringing a lot of natural light and creating open space and a clean aesthetic was really important in the design of this new facility,” added Ian McIntosh, President at Mesa Rim Climbing Gym. 

“It’s all about the walls. The walls tower above you, attract you and they pull you in, but to really get the best aspect ratio out of them, you want the lighting to come in and hit the walls at different angles and give you the depth perception that you would have when you look up in a natural setting,” said Bob Kain, President and Partner at Mesa Rim Climbing Gym.

The design team achieved their goal with an integrated design approach, using different types of Solatube Daylighting Systems to daylight 18m (60 feet), from the top of the walls to the occupied floor level.

“The Solatube Daylighting Systems gave us a tremendous amount of flexibility when laying out the locations of light,” said McIntosh.

“I loved how we were able to use multiple Solatube Daylighting Systems to throw the light differently all around the gym,” added Kain. “We were able to cast light down to the floor areas and light up the walls in other areas, exactly how we wanted it.”

• 12 x SkyVault M74 DS complete with Amplifiers
• 25 x SolaMaster 330 DS-O
• 5 x Solatube 290 DS

With the natural lighting design, rock climbing holds and routes are easier to see and navigate than ever. The gym membership has reached near capacity, and they host many competitions and events at this facility.

Mesa Rim Climbing Gym has achieved their goal. It is the hub for the climbing community in Southern California; igniting, supporting, and inspiring lifelong climbers.