Chris Ryan - AIA, NCARB
Building Design & Development Consultant
Licensed Architect & Registered Contractor
Board Member & Speaker
Trusted By
From climbing to coworking, fitness to food & beverage, education to events, ramps to recovery, waves to wellness, and playspaces to performance and community centers, these are the core pieces our projects.
Your unique intent and mix of parts is the "fingerprint" of your building project, which we use to create a space that serves today’s needs but also inspires what’s next..
REIMAGINING SPACES FOR WORK & PLAY
The lines between life and work are increasingly blurred, and our digital lives leave people craving opportunities for in-person engagement and interaction.
That's where a new type of Third Space(+) comes in; spaces that curate an ecology of parts that support the different aspects of our lives; our work, play, and personal growth; spaces that inspire while fostering connection, creativity, and well-being.
Whether our visionary clients want to build a state-of-the-art climbing and fitness facility, an innovative coworking hub, or a vibrant community center, they are committed to creating spaces that improve our mental, physical, and social well-being.
By blending life, work, and play, while balancing vision with risk, we create strong businesses and spaces that are vital to our collective thriving.
CHRIS' IMPACT:
Clients opened 9 new facilities in the last 3 years.
Current projects valued at over $90m.
Helped 4 businesses open first location in the last 3 years.
Worked with businesses up to $5bn in revenue.
Helped 1 business franchise their model.
Helped 7 businesses raise funds to build in the last 3 years.
Opened 17 climbing and dedicated work/ play facilities.
Worked on 5 continents.
Designed 75+ climbing wall projects over last 20 years.
Created 100+ climbing and mixed-use concepts, and test fits.
How We Do It:
We help you take a good idea and turn it into a great project
Visualize Your Concept
Envision and understand your project by bringing your vision to life to ensure it aligns with your goals.
See what your vision could be and test ideas
Build support for your project
Conceptualize what's next
Balance Investment and Returns
High-level Financial Planning & Analysis that balances all the parts of your project, so that you only build what you need.
Balance vision with the reality of finances and investment
Balance business model and investment with returns
Determine how best to use every dollar
Map Your Path Forward
Organize your entire project from start to finish, so you know exactly what to do next at any given moment.
Bridge the gap from idea to open doors
Stay on top of key milestones
Reduce delays
Project Framework
STEP 01
Project
Launch
Advising
Includes:
1-1 advising sessions, editable support materials, drawing markups, document
reviews, and other support.
STEP 02
Proof of
Project
Concept
Includes:
1-1 Advising
Pre-design goals & concepts.
Analyze vision and risk.
Program your project spaces.
Financial planning & analysis.
Initial budgets and schedules.
STEP 03
Rapid
Concept
Visuals
Includes:
Quickly testing ideas and concepts.
Find & test-fit locations.
Create materials for presentation, fundraising, stakeholder buy-in, etc.
STEP 04
Organize/
Funding/
Strategy
Includes:
Put the project pieces in place.
LOI/ lease issues.
Look for opportunities.
Revise budgets and schedules.
Pin down a path forward.
STEP 05
Draw/
Permit/
Build
Includes:
Hiring the larger A/E team.
Zoning & permit issues.
Working with builders.
Working with specialty vendors.
STEP 06
Presale/
Hiring/
Opening
Includes:
Getting ready to open in the best position possible.
FAQ
Chris helps clients take visionary ideas and turn them into successfully completed building projects.
Chris develops projects with you, and his focus is on creating the best projects in the world that combine work and play, mixing things like climbing, skate parks, coworking, events, food & beverage, fitness, recovery, yoga, racket sports, childcare, education, retail, and many other unique programs.
These facilities often function as community centers and a new type of 3rd Space (+), where we get to share the things we love, together.
The first step is to reach out through my Contact page, and if it seems like the right fit, we can hop on a call together.
Chris' goal is to help you, your vision, and your facility shine.
We do this with a combination of Concept Visualization, Financial Planning & Analysis, and Strategy.
Chris works as your development person, working towards the goal of successfully envisioning your concept and completing your building project.
In any of these cases, the goal is always the same; which is to help you create the best facility possible, and make your concept shine.
Chris has a unique specialty as an Architect who's done world-class climbing projects around the world, and because of his personal love for climbing, but that's just the beginning.
So many climbing projects are more than just climbing these days, that incorporating coworking, fitness, events, food & beverage, retail, etc... is the requirement for a modern facility.
Other recent and current projects include; skate parks, surf pools, daycare, education, racket sports, and housing.
The goal is to always create ecosystems of programs, to create inspiring spaces and successful businesses.
Chris has been creating award-winning live/ work/ play projects for nearly 20 years.
Chris has been a climber for nearly 30 years, and is a prime example of how climbing can change your life. From a under-sized 15 y.o. kid, to traveling the world, to designing climbing walls and finishing 10th in bouldering nationals in the early 2000s', this is is the reason Chris is so passionate about helping people open new facilities and build communities through climbing.
Chris is a Licensed Architect (AIA, NCARB), a registered general contractor, and ran development for a climbing gym franchise for nearly a decade.
Over those 20 years, Chris was a designer, project manager, construction manager, owners representative, VP development.
He's walked countless spaces, done hundreds of test fits and concept designs, and worked through piles of leases and potential opportunities with businesses looking for real estate to buy or lease.
In addition, Chris was a professor at the college and graduate school level for 11 years; researching and teaching on issues related to professional practice, construction and materials, and design studios. That experience has informed his current way of working, leading to better ways to organize projects, teams, and work with owners compared to most "traditional" models of project delivery.
Chris did his undergraduate degree at CU Boulder (Bachelor of Environmental Design BENVD '02), and got his Masters at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (MArch '09).
Over the years, Chris has designed and developed climbing gyms and other mixed-use projects across the country and around the world. These lessons and insights have proved to be invaluable working with clients on projects, saving time and money, so that we can focus on the best result possible.
All of this is to say that Chris thinks and works at the highest theoretical level, while also digging ditches with clients to make projects happen.
Here are some specific metrics and client results:
Between 2022-2024:
Between 2000-2022:
You can hear more from my clients directly, on my Testimonials page.
This isn't for everyone.
This IS for people who aren't satisfied with a "good" project, and are willing to invest in creating something great.
To create a world-class project, it's not about simply hiring an architect and hoping for the best. There's too much at stake for you to be someone else's new-project experiment.
It's about REALLY digging into the why of the project, so that we can design a space and develop a strategy to execute the project that meets your goals, budget, timeline, and ambition.
This means that the space you rent or buy, and the business model you develop, and the amount you can afford to spend on the build-out, and the predicted return on all that investment needs to work together.
Figuring out that puzzle is what Chris does with clients.
If your ambition is a world-class project, and you'd like help putting the pieces together, designing an inspiring space, and strategizing how to execute successfully, then reach out and lets talk.
The first step is to reach out through my Contact page, and if it seems like the right fit, we can hop on a call together.
My goal is to guide you in the right direction with feedback and recommendations on where to go and what to check out or who to talk to.
If I can help, 99% of my clients start with my Project Launch advising program, because it's a great way to get to know each other, extend the conversation, and get you some real answers, organization, and digital tools and templates you can customize.
From there, as the project develops, we can jump into a larger Design and Development Package, and the Advising fee will be deducted from that.
If you have a very clear vision as-to what you want to do, and depending on your timeline, you may be in that 1% where we can jump right into a Design and Development Package.
Over the years, beginning with advising has proved to be a great path to success, because there's no extra cost if you continue with the Design and Development Package.
In any case, reach out and let's begin the conversation.
Yes! My first job at the end of college and after college for several years, was designing climbing walls for a climbing wall company, and it's something that I've continued doing over the last ~25 years, for certain projects.
I'm a big believer that our climbing walls aren't good enough in most facilities, and over the years, I've become more and more re-engaged with climbign wall design, to get the most out of projects for my clients.
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About Chris
For over 20 years, Chris Ryan has been designing, developing, and building award-winning projects and creating meaningful 3rd spaces that mix work and play, by balancing the people you're serving, the purpose you're sharing, and the profit you need to survive.
His background and experience as a licensed Architect, registered contractor, and commercial development executive over the past two decades mean he knows what it takes to bridge the gap between idea and open doors.
After years spent working for multidisciplinary architecture and design-build companies, learning how to balance design with cost and execution, Chris spent a decade designing next generation climbing gyms across the country.
Today, he pays every lesson learned forward to help his clients build meaningful third(+) spaces that end up firmly at the center of peoples’ lives.
An avid rock climber, surfer, skier, and former national-level competitive athlete, Chris has experienced firsthand how play can profoundly impact our lives.
His work has received national and international design awards, and has been written about in Fast Company and Forbes, and his YouTube channel has over 18,000+ subscribers.
He has taught design, construction, and professional practice courses at Roger Williams University and at Northeastern University, and received his Master of Architecture degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
Testimonials
"It's his experience not only in the Architectural genius in the designs he creates, but in the many details found in-between.
Everything about how we approach our growth as a company has evolved so measurably since beginning to work with Chris."
Britt Riley
Founder - Haven Daycare/ Coworking/ Fitness
"Chris Ryan has been an invaluable resource helping us to convey our concepts to various municipal departments in an expeditious and cost effective manner.
His ability to rapidly translate concepts into visual realities and to scale is remarkable"
Jesse Levin
Founder - Tactivate
"I feel like I wouldn't be in the process of opening and making it happen without Chris; and the guidance through the development world has been great.
Turning an idea into reality, I attribute a lot of that to your help."
Mark Messner
Founder - Rendezvous Climbing
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