They can no longer be overlooked from the Mittlerer Ring, and now pedestrians in the Olympic Park can see them from afar: The new climbing tower and the boulder sculpture on the TUM Campus at the Olympic Park (CiO) are nearing completion. As part of the new construction of the entire facility, the old climbing wall is being dismantled and the new structure is being constructed in the northern part of the TUM CiO. In future, the new modern fitness training course whose equipment has already been installed will also be located there.
The climbing tower consisting of two pillars is approx. 16 metres high and a total of 19 metres wide. Including the cladding, it offers around 570 square metres of climbing wall space and has a roof area of around 190 square metres. It has a total of 47 safety lines, and three stop-off points have also been planned. Furthermore, the new tower includes a training platform with climbable double doors as well as a 10 square metres storage room with a grip washing machine in the large tower.
The boulder sculpture is about seven and a half meters high and over 16 meters wide. Including the cladding, it offers around 275 square metres of climbing wall space and has a roof area of around 125 square metres. A special feature is the approximately 16.5 square metres covered training platform at a height of four metres. The boulder block also has an approx. 20 square metres storage room directly inside it.
The substructure of both structures consists of wooden beams mounted on a concrete foundation. The “planking” (climbing wall panels) is made from coated birch wood multiplex panels. Both constructions are also completely hollow inside, providing storage space for materials, climbing grips, tools, and hardware.
Both buildings were manufactured and constructed by the Austrian company “Artrock”, which was founded in 1989 and specialises in the planning and construction of climbing walls. Including the construction of the new climbing routes, the construction project took almost three months to complete. Due to the coronavirus and the resulting closure of the border with Austria, the planned completion was delayed.
“The new site is varied and highly diverse, from short (twelve metres) to high (16 metres), from vertical to a pronounced competition overhang”, says Thomas Plank, Head of Mountain and Climbing Sports at the University Sports Center Munich (ZHS), who is delighted with the new building. “The creative and modern route construction will have a wide range of requirements and will be able to serve a diverse range of target groups - from handicapped visitors (MS groups) to hobby and amateur sportsmen and women as well as competitive athletes. Everyone will be able to find their favourite route!”
There are 25 prefabricated grip and foothold options per square metre creating a total of around 14,250 possibilities to vary them. The route construction team will also install approx. 4,000-6,000 grips and footholds on the climbing towers and approx. 250-500 grips and footholds at the bouldering facility.
The walls are also suitable for competitions and events. “You can even get a great view of the competition overhang from outside the site, for example from the Kusocinski dam”, says Thomas Plank. The European Championships will take place in Munich in the summer of 2022, and perhaps climbing will be added to the competition calendar as a sport by that time.
“The new climbing facility at the TUM Campus in the Olympic Park is an absolute eye-catcher”, exclaims Dr. Till Lorenzen, Managing Director of the Department of Sports and Health Sciences. “As the work progresses, it will gradually be incorporated into the landscape even more. It was also especially important to us that the new construction is aligned with regulations regarding the preservation of historical monuments for the entire Olympic Park to safeguard its existence.”
Press review ZHS climbing facility:
Contact:
Thomas Plank
Head of Mountain and Climbing Sports
University Sports Center Munich
e-mail: plankt(at)zv.tum.de
Text by Romy Schwaiger at Seite der Fakultät für Sport und Gesundheitswissenschaften