Connecting life, work, and play through meaningful 3rd Space(+)™; building projects that combine people, purpose, and profit.
Chris Ryan AIA NCARB
Building Design & Development Consultant
Licensed Architect & Registered Contractor
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How do we combine work and play with our REAL lives?
We build Venues for Life, 3rd(+) spaces that create belonging around the things we love, the values we share, and the activities that give us purpose.
These 3rd(+) spaces combine people, purpose, and profit in ways that free people to make different choices about how and where they spend their time, and who they spend their time with.
This is about more than climbing gyms, skate parks, daycares, or workspaces.
This is about building the business of tomorrow- ones that create positive spaces for people to learn, grow, connect, and do the things they love, so they can live better lives.
Whether your building is a climbing gym, skate park, event venue, coworking space, daycare, or some other mix, it all comes down to defining the fingerprint of your project and what you really care about, so you can focus on creating what's next.
How We Create The New 3rd Space(+)™
Design & Visualization
Test fits, concepts, prototypes, and other visualizations that combine both climbing walls and the building architecture, from the start, is the key.
It's not about a pretty picture, however, because that won't mean much if you can't afford it. It's about developing a complete project, by understanding your situation, your goals, and your budget, then visualizing the options.
We work together, like an improvisation, back and forth, creating something that adds up to more than the individual pieces alone. That's what we do together.
Financial Planning & Analysis
There's not one "right" place to start a project, because everyone brings different pieces to the table. Regardless, we can set a budget early in the process, which helps us understand what size of project you can afford, what type of facility you can build, how to speak with investors, and the investment vs. the return.
We do this with high level Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), by taking the pieces, and balancing them early in the process, so that we can design things that meet your budget and give you the business performance you need.
Strategy & Planning
To move your project forward, we need to understand your budget and your goals, and we can't waste time and money along the way, because you may never get your business open.
There's simply too much on the line, and the best business model in a space you can't afford won't work. Or the coolest design that you can't afford can be an anchor on your business for years to come.
Moving your project forward is about balancing the realities vs. the dream, and figuring out how to make them work together.
About Chris
Chris Ryan is a building design and development consultant with over 20 years of professional experience designing, developing, and building unique and meaningful spaces that combine work and play.
His background and experience as a licensed architect, registered contractor, former commercial development executive, college professor, and national-level competitive athlete mean that he is driven by smart strategies that fuel exceptional results.
As someone who was fortunate enough to discover rock climbing as an uninspired 15-year-old, Chris can personally attest to the transformative power that an activity can have on our lives.
At the end of college in the early 2000s, he began designing climbing walls professionally, traveling the world to climb, and eventually received his Master of Architecture degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
It wasn’t long before he transitioned out of traditional architecture work and spent a decade developing next-generation climbing gyms across the country.
Now, he works independently with clients to design and develop buildings that combine business and play, and end up firmly at the center of peoples’ lives.
Learn More
Free Resources
The free support material is a good place to start.
We offer free downloads, guides, and videos to help you get going.
Client Testimonials
This isn't just about making drawings and pretty pictures.
Check out some results below, and hear it directly from my clients.
YouTube
This is an educational channel, sharing lessons learned.
I post weekly videos on developing projects & design topics.
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