Challenge

This 320㎡ indoor bouldering gym in downtown Vancouver, Canada, includes climbing walls, a bouldering cave, a lounge seating area and a gear shop. The high bare ceiling, concrete floors and plywood climbing surfaces create strong reverberation across the space. Callouts from climbers, belayer instructions, background music and shoe scuffing overlap, making communication hard and increasing safety risks. The gym needed durable, impact-resistant acoustic solutions that could handle regular scuffs, chalk dust and high foot traffic, without looking clinical or soft.

Solution

The full gym ceiling is fitted with high-density inorganic fiberglass acoustic ceiling tiles. The surface is flat, smooth, untextured and non-fibrous, with no plush finish — absorbing reflected noise from walls and climbing surfaces while remaining durable and easy to brush clean of chalk dust. Side and back walls behind climbing routes use grooved and perforated resonant acoustic panels with rear cavity structure, tuned through acoustic simulation to target mid-low frequency reverberation from the tall open space. Panels have impact-resistant faces suitable for an active recreation environment.

All materials meet ASTM E84 Class A fire safety standards. Construction was completed during off-hours to avoid disrupting gym classes and open climb sessions.

Result

Overall gym reverberation drops by 41%, and verbal communication between climbers and belayers is significantly clearer. Safety callouts carry across the space without shouting, reducing accident risk. The smooth ceiling and perforated panels fit the raw industrial gym aesthetic, and hold up well to regular chalk dust and physical impact.