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For my Ludic Space research, I chose Blockfabrik. I belong to the climbing community from an early age, therefore this is a form of play I naturally connect to. Moving towns and countries was quite challenging, so I started to re-estabilish my routine in Vienna- and went climbing. Bouldering is a style of climbing in which the routes are generally short, built of dynamic, enduring moves. It does not require any rope or belay gear, since a soft mat, a crashpad is laid under the walls. Bouldering subculture would not form without small communities, who’d build their own small homewalls and would gather to train regularly. Bouldering is a sport which formed organically, in a very playful way. Blockfabrik, as almost all the bouldering gyms, was built by a group of passionate climbers in a former warehouse, in 2017. Located in the middle of the fifth distict, it’s one of Vienna’s central climbing gyms. Blockfabrik is a good example of something that drawns youngsters in the urban bouldering subculture. This big indsutrial space is designed with a lot of fantasy. Graffitis by the artist RUIN complement the colourful climbing wall’s aesthetics. The gym consists of not only the climing walls, and the training areas, but it has a café and a terrace only for the fulfillment of social connection. Joining this play is quite easy- not only because climbers are usually welcoming. Climbing or projecting the same route naturally starts the conversation, which can lead either competitive scenarios or finding new challenges together, and if you consistently go tot he gym the same time of the week, you will eventually meet the same people who’ll greet you with a smile. In my opinion, modern bouldering gyms not only provide a place for the sport, but offer a complex experience, such as options for healty food, merch clothes, a place to meet like-minded young people. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why bouldering becomes a trend increasingly. A certain way of clothing is a part of the subculture, just as putting climbing shoes ont he outside of bags- showing off is a part of the play.