Bright Architecture and Nook Brooklyn Collaborate on a Climbing Gym in Williamsburg

After a century of different uses, including as a soda factory and metal warehouse, the building at the corner of North 14th Street and Berry Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn had fallen into such disrepair it was being used for a dark, grimy backdrop in music videos and commercials. When Bright Architecture and Nook Studio were tasked with transforming it into VITAL Climbing Gym, a fitness space that also offers aerial silk, yoga, cycle, and other classes, they chose to embrace the building’s industrial past rather than covering it up. Century-old brick, plaster, and metal beams were left in their original condition, juxtaposed against brand-new colorful plywood-and-steel climbing walls. The contrast acknowledges the building’s history while announcing a vibrant new addition to the neighborhood.