Client: Uplify

2023

Montreal, QC. Canada

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The Allez Up climbing center is setting up in the Mile End and is at the height of the neighborhood. Among Italian cafes, renowned restaurants and art galleries, Allez Up captivates serious sports enthusiasts, as well as amateurs, with a gripping experience.

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The goal was to create an inviting atmosphere, while keeping the "underground" side of the neighborhood. The existing building being a former window manufacturing factory, the first challenge was to improve this deeply industrial place and transform it into a convivial space. In concert with the Délire climbing wall specialists, the design pays particular attention to defining distinct zones in this vast rectangular space, while keeping the whole cohesive. The existing mezzanine was renovated to maximize space and allows storage rooms and offices to be integrated into the program, in addition to offering a view upstairs on the 5-meter bouldering walls.

The reception desk, a quadrangle that boldly unfolds to define the space, transforms into a café, then into an observation area. The face of the counter is decorated with cherry wood slats, recalling the materiality of the climbing wall. Remnants of the old factory, exposed concrete block wall and existing steel joists were retained and painted white and gray for a clean look. Everything is harmonized by the climbing walls that run along the double-height space.