Ratho Adventure Centre: Photos, Building, Edinburgh International Climbing Arena

Adventure Centre, West Lothian, Scotland for Ratho Quarry Co. Ltd
by Moidart Architects + Apriori

Ratho Climbing Centre, Edinburgh - Images


building image from Moidart

Scottish Climbing Centre in disused Quarry

News Update 14 Jul 2008 - Ratho Roof
Edinburgh International Climbing Centre's problems have apparently reached "crisis point" according to the Evening News. The roof needs fixing, despite only being constructed in 2003, possibly closing the centre for six months.

The design for the Ratho Adventure Centre responded to the challenge of how to convert a disused quarry into a world class, national status, climbing centre. The brief also called for the construction of the largest hall in the East of Scotland.
When the quarry was purchased by the developer it was filled with rubble and was heavily overgrown. The designers were therefore unable to assess many of the physical attributes of the site until substantial work had been carried out on site.


Scottish Climbing Centre, Ratho: image from Moidart

The difficulties of the site were considerable such as the lack of vehicular access, lack of ground suitable for a carpark, and the condition of the bedrock inaccessible under 15 metres of rubble . Much of the project had to be designed as construction was in progress.


Adventure Centre Ratho: image from Moidart

The Client, the Ratho Quarry Co. Ltd. bought the old Ratho quarry in 1995 to construct a scottish climbing centre within the quarry itself. The quarry had stood disused for ninety years. The design brief was to construct a building containing all the functions of a National Climbing Centre including an International Competition scale climbing hall, lecture hall, residential accommodation, a sports gym, restaurant, bar and changing facilities. From the design start in 1996, the Ratho Climbing Centre project grew in size and scale and eventually incorporated in addition:- a scuba diving pool, 1300m sq. of office accommodation, 800m sq. of retail space, physiotherapy suite, sauna/steam rooms, dedicated weight lifting room, purpose built judo hall, aerobics hall, reception suites, service building, staff areas and aerial assault course.


wall image from Moidart

The primary functional requirement of the Ratho Adventure Centre design was to construct a climbing hall of at least 22 metres height with a permanent roof to provide cover over the existing rock climbs. This would enable climbing to take place all year round, both on natural rock and plywood surfaces.


image from Moidart

The Ratho quarry was formed in a rough figure of eight, with an area of 2.20 hectares. The smaller ‘bowl’ was identified as the ideal size for the climbing hall, 65m x 55m. This was considered small enough to roof over. The larger ‘bowl’ would be left undeveloped for climbing in the open air and would contain all the existing ‘named’ climbs.


image from Moidart

The last act of the quarriers had been to infill part of the quarry with the waste dolerite rock. In the following 90 years this rubble had compacted and been taken over by trees and shrubs. The first site-works involved the removal of the less attractive vegetation and approx. 250,000 tonnes of rubble.
The assumption that the base of Ratho quarry was roughly flat proved correct and left a climbing hall almost 30m tall in places, the biggest covered climbing arena in the world. Some existing climbs were almost doubled in height and many new climbs were created.


Ratho Climbing Centre: image from Moidart

The size of the Ratho Climbing Centre and nature of the site required that large structural elements be employed to form the roof and the fourth wall of the climbing hall. It was decided that eight Toblerone steel lattice trusses would span the hall. At one end these would sit on top of the cliff top, allowing the full height of the cliff to be climbed.


Scottish Climbing Centre, Ratho: image from Moidart

At the other end they would sit on eight solid steel triangular columns, their tops shaped like chisels. These 25m high structural freestanding columns supporting trusses 70m long became a motif and were continued out of the hall into the adjacent accommodation building.


Ratho Adventure Centre: image from Moidart

The envelope over the Ratho climbing hall roof (an area of half a hectare) and the open fourth wall were formed using a non-structural lightweight fabric which required the development of a unique structural system based upon an inverted tent concept. This allows an even diffuse light into the climbing hall, ideal for climbing. Artificial lighting allows climbing in the evenings and darker months.


photo © adrian welch

The Mines and Quarries Act requires the owner of a quarry to control access to what could be a dangerous location. The Scottish Climbing Centre designers decided that the accommodation building to support the climbing activities should straddle the access into the quarry, thereby controlling the visitors.


photo © adrian welch

The amount of accommodation required dictated a multi-storey solution. A five-storey building was constructed, situated between the two cliffs that formed the original entrance rock jaws of the quarry.


photo © adrian welch

Given the unique nature of the structure over the Climbing Hall, it was clear that the structure for the five-storey building would take a different form. It was felt however that the 5 storey building should have a physical and visual link to its neighbour.


photo © adrian welch

To establish a visual continuity between the two buildings, the 25 metre high steel triangular chisel headed columns were carried through the five storey building to the front of the Ratho Adventure Centre, separating the two halves of the accommodation building and thus creating an atrium in the centre of the building. The chisel columns support a planar glass roof light, letting light into the interior of the deep accommodation building and the access stairways.
Given the nature of a modern structure constructed within an old quarry, and between rock walls, it was decided to use natural materials wherever possible.


photo © adrian welch

The dramatic setting of the Ratho Climbing Centre, the surprising scale of the climbing hall, the hidden nature of the site and the unusual building literally built into the rock faces make the Centre a unique site and a unique building.

Ratho Adventure Centre: Building PR from Moidart Architects, Edinburgh 25 May 2004



Apriori Designs Ltd are the company responsible for the Ratho Adventure Centre design: Apriori Designs Limited Atlantic Hose 38 Gardners Crescent Edinburgh
0131 229 6701 Admin@apriori.co.uk

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