Buildering
Buildering (also known as
urban climbing,
structuring, or
stegophily) is the act of climbing the outside of buildings and other
urban structures. The word "buildering" is a
portmanteau combining the word "building" with the climbing term "
bouldering".
Usually involving
free climbing in difficult conditions, buildering can be very dangerous and is often practiced outside of legal bounds, and is thus mostly undertaken at night-time. Adepts of buildering who are seen climbing on buildings without authorization are regularly met by police forces upon completing their exploit. Spectacular acts of
buildering, such as free climbing skyscrapers, are usually accomplished by lone, experienced climbers, sometimes attracting large crowds of passers-by and
media attention. These remain relatively rare.
Buildering can also take a form more akin to
bouldering, which tends towards climbing and/or traversing shorter sections of buildings and structures. While still generally frowned upon by property owners, some, such as the
University of Colorado at Boulder turn a blind eye towards the practice in many locations.
Although often done as a solo sport, buildering has also become a popular group activity. As in more traditional rock climbing, routes are established and graded for difficulty.
Less impressive forms of urban climbing can be observed in
demonstrations, as a means of protest, or at some public events such as street parades or converts, where people frequently climb on sign posts and other small structures.
*
Alain Robert, largely known as the real-life Spiderman, has climbed the
Empire State Building in
New York, the
Golden Gate Bridge in
San Francisco, the
Sears Tower in
Chicago and the
Petronas Towers in
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, among others, without using any aids.
*
Dan Goodwin, aka Spider Dan climbed the
Sears Tower in
Chicago in
1981.
*
George Willig climbed the
World Trade Center.
*
Harry and Simon Westaway climbed the
Palace of Westminster's
clock tower,
Big Ben in
London as an anti-war protest for
Greenpeace.[
1]
*
Harry Gardiner, known as the Human Fly, was the first recorded urban climber.
*
George Polley, also known as the Human Fly, who took up buildering in the 1910s.
*
Parkour*
Buildering.net*
Buildering Gallery*
First Buildering World Championship*
Official website of Alain Robert*
Ascent of the Arche de la Defence*
Danish buildering site*
Urban Street Climbing Site*
Rotterdam buildering videos*
Buildering in Germany*
Street Boulder Contest - Milan, Italy
