Reef Design Lab
Reef Design Lab is a Melbourne-based multidisciplinary design studio founded in 2014 that designs, prototypes, and manufactures artificial reef and coastal habitat infrastructure products for governments, research institutions, NGOs, and architects worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersMentone, Australia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Reef Design Lab does
Reef Design Lab is a Melbourne-based multidisciplinary design studio founded in 2014 by industrial designer Alex Goad. The firm designs, prototypes, and manufactures artificial reef and coastal habitat infrastructure for marine restoration, eco-engineering of seawalls, coral farming, and erosion mitigation. Its portfolio of made-to-order products includes the MARS and MARS II modular artificial reef structures, Living Seawalls (panels, pile wraps, and boulders), 3D Printed Reefs, Artificial Reef Units, EMU erosion mitigation units made from recycled oyster shells, Mangrove Planters, and Bush Habitat biodegradable shelters. Core technology combines large-format D-shape 3D printing, mould making, casting, and proprietary eco-blend concrete mixtures that incorporate recycled materials such as oyster shells.
The studio operates a sales-led, B2B go-to-market, delivering projects directly to governments (PIRSA, Tweed River Shire Council, City of Helsingborg), research institutions (UTS, UNSW, Macquarie University, Melbourne University, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Adelaide University), NGOs and conservation bodies (WWF Netherlands, The Nature Conservancy), and cultural/commercial clients (Sydney Opera House, Suncentral Maroochydore). Services span custom design, prototyping, in-house fabrication, project management, site selection, and deployment supervision. Pricing is quote-based and project-specific, with revenue streams from one-time product sales and professional services. The studio is privately held, founder-led, has no disclosed external funding, and operates with 1–10 employees out of a single Mentone, Victoria studio.
Reef Design Lab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Reef Design Lab
- Legal name
- Reef Design Lab
- Website
- https://reefdesignlab.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Reef Design Lab is a Melbourne-based multidisciplinary design studio founded in 2014 that designs, prototypes, and manufactures artificial reef and coastal habitat infrastructure products for governments, research institutions, NGOs, and architects worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Reef Design Lab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marine Habitat Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Other Specialized Design Services (54149)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Production Design & Detailed Engineering (3D CAD, Drawings, BOM, Nesting) (IMAJAGAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Navigation & Aids-to-Navigation Works (Beacons, Buoys, Markers) (IMAFAJAH)
Keywords
Where Reef Design Lab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mentone
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Reef Design Lab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Product Sales: Sale of standardized habitat products including Living Seawalls, MARS, EMU, artificial reef units, mangrove planters. Products are made-to-order and available in multiple sizes.
- Custom Design & Manufacturing Services: Full-service design studio providing custom unit design, prototyping, and manufacture. Includes advanced digital design, in-house fabrication, and complex tooling.
- Project Management & Delivery: End-to-end project services including site selection, reef layout design, deployment supervision, and coral reef restoration. Services for governments, architects, and research institutions worldwide.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Living Seawalls Boulders - made-to-order |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Artificial Reef Units - various sizes |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Reef Design Lab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Reef Design Lab designs, prototypes and manufactures unique coastal and marine habitat infrastructure products, including modular artificial reef systems (MARS, MARS II), Living Seawalls and Boulders, erosion mitigation units (EMU), mangrove planters and bespoke 3D printed reef units. The studio also provides full-service custom design, advanced digital fabrication, in-house manufacturing and end-to-end project delivery (site selection, deployment supervision, coral reef restoration) for governments, architects, builders and research institutions worldwide.
Product overview
Reef Design Lab is a multidisciplinary design company that develops marine habitat infrastructure products and services. The portfolio consists of artificial reef systems (MARS II, MARS, Artificial Reef Units, 3D Printed Reefs), coastal habitat enhancement solutions (Living Seawalls, Living Seawalls Pile Wraps, Living Seawalls Boulders, Lightweight Fish Habitat), environmental restoration products (EMU, Mangrove Planters, Bush Habitat), and research substrates. The company also provides full-service offerings including custom design and prototyping, advanced digital design, in-house fabrication (large format 3D printing, mould making, casting), site selection, diving services, deployment supervision, and coral reef restoration. Products are available as standard offerings or can be custom-designed and manufactured for specific research and commercial projects.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Living Seawalls: A product range providing habitat options for intertidal infrastructure environments, including pile wraps and boulders for marine habitat enhancement
- MARS
- MARS II
- EMU
- Bush Habitat
Products and services
- MARS II (Modular Artificial Reef Structure II) Second-generation modular artificial reef system designed for tropical and temperate marine environments, featuring advanced habitat complexity for coral farming and marine species colonisation.
- EMU (Erosion Mitigation Units) Coastal erosion mitigation units crafted from recycled oyster shells, designed to provide habitat while protecting shorelines from wave action.
- MARS (Modular Artificial Reef Structure) Original modular artificial reef system designed for tropical coral farming and marine habitat creation, with proven success in various international installations.
- Living Seawalls Marine habitat enhancement system for vertical seawall infrastructure, incorporating biomimetic textures and geometries that replicate natural rock formations to support marine organism colonisation.
- Living Seawalls Pile Wraps Habitat enhancement modules designed for marine pile structures, extending the Living Seawalls concept to pier and jetty infrastructure.
- Living Seawalls Boulders Boulder revetment seawall enhancement units available in two sizes (Boulder S 600x580x350mm and Boulder XL 1150x1080x700mm), featuring water retention rockpools and biomimetic surfaces for intertidal habitat creation.
- Artificial Reef Units Cast concrete habitat units in various sizes (300mm to 1200mm) designed for fish habitat enhancement, incorporating caves, overhangs and rough substrates for marine colonisation.
- Mangrove Planters Specialised planters for coastal defence using Victoria's native southern mangrove species, designed for mass planting with reusable units after 3-year maturation cycles.
- Lightweight Fish Habitat Low-cost steel habitat structures with ceramic substrate panels designed for retrofitted marine infrastructure, developed for projects including Sydney Opera House and Helsingborg, Sweden.
- 3D Printed Reefs Large-scale 3D printed reef units (50–120cm height) using D-shape technology, produced in partnership with WWF Netherlands for North Sea oyster reef restoration research.
- Substrates for Research Custom marine environment substrates supplied to research institutions, including various substrate geometries, moulds, concrete mix designs and 3D printed materials for reef restoration research.
- Bush Habitat Biodegradable cardboard habitat structures for bushfire-affected areas, designed for short-term shelter for ground-dwelling fauna such as bandicoots, possums and reptiles.
- Custom Design, Prototyping and Manufacturing Services Full-service design studio offering concept development, advanced digital design, prototyping, in-house fabrication and complex tooling for marine habitat and coastal infrastructure projects. Services are delivered to governments, architects, builders and research institutions worldwide.
- Project Management, Site Selection and Deployment Services End-to-end project services including site selection, reef layout design, deployment supervision and coral reef restoration, provided alongside RDL's habitat products.
Quantifiable outcome
- Artificial reefs proven to increase fish abundance in areas with limited or degraded natural habitat
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Reef Design Lab
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Reef Design Lab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Reef Design Lab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- WWF NetherlandscoreCollaboration on 3D printed reef units for oyster reef restoration research project in the North Sea. 50 units were 3D printed in Rotterdam by Boskalis using D-shape technology, sized 50-120cm high, to be monitored over several years.
- University of Technology Sydney (UTS)coreCollaboration with scientists David Booth and Giglia Beretta from UTS to design fish habitat research structures for Sydney Opera House. Units designed for video survey monitoring with textured ceramic panels.
- Sydney Opera HousecoreFish habitat research structures installed beside Sydney Opera House. Partnership with UTS scientists to create mini temperate artificial reefs that will be monitored over several years.
- Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS)coreScientific team partner for Living Seawalls project. Working with RDL to develop research-based techniques for designing marine infrastructure using digital fabrication.
- UNSW (University of New South Wales)corePart of Living Seawalls scientific team developing research-based techniques for marine infrastructure design.
- Macquarie UniversitycorePart of Living Seawalls scientific team. Also collaborated on Bush Habitat project for biodegradable structures for bushfire-affected wildlife.
- PIRSA (Primary Industries and Regions SA)minorGovernment agency contracted RDL to supply reef units for oyster reef restoration project in Ardrossan, South Australia, led by The Nature Conservancy.
- The Nature ConservancycoreLead organization for Ardrossan oyster reef restoration project. RDL contracted to supply specially designed reef units.
- Adelaide UniversityminorResearchers at Adelaide University evaluating effectiveness of specially designed reef units with control structures for Ardrossan project.
- Melbourne University - National Centre for Coasts and ClimatecoreResearch collaboration on coastal defence using Victoria's native southern mangrove species inside specially designed planters. Project theory: after 3-year plant maturation, planters can be reused.
- Western Port Seagrass PartnershipminorSupporting the mangrove planters project investigating coastal defence through mass planting.
- Maritime ConstructionsminorInstallation contractor for Ardrossan reef units.
- BMD CivilminorInstallation contractor for 160 reef units at Maroochydore Suncentral Corso project.
- City of HelsingborgcoreCollaboration to design lightweight structures for growing native seaweed and creating juvenile fish habitat along industrial seawalls in Sweden.
- Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS)minorSupporting the Sydney Opera House fish habitat project as research partner.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Reef Design Lab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Tetra Tech: Tetra Tech is a global environmental and engineering consulting firm with extensive coastal restoration, living shoreline, and marine habitat practices. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for the same government and NGO restoration budgets.
- AECOM: AECOM is a global infrastructure consulting firm with significant coastal resilience, port, and marine habitat capabilities. Comparable as a broad incumbent that can underbid RDL on large government coastal restoration projects while increasingly offering eco-engineering solutions.
- WSP: WSP is a global professional services firm with a strong coastal and maritime engineering practice. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving port authorities, governments, and developers on shoreline protection and marine infrastructure projects.
- Moffatt & Nichol: Moffatt & Nichol is an international marine and coastal engineering consultancy specializing in ports, harbors, and shoreline protection. Comparable as a broader engineering incumbent with overlapping coastal infrastructure and habitat enhancement capabilities.
- Arcadis: Arcadis is a global design and consultancy firm with a coastal and marine engineering practice delivering seawalls, ports, and resilience projects. Comparable as a broader incumbent whose marine/coastal design capabilities overlap with RDL's eco-engineering work for government clients.
Direct peers
- ECOncrete: ECOncrete develops bio-enhancing concrete solutions for marine and coastal infrastructure, including seawall panels, reef units, and breakwater modules. Direct peer to RDL in producing designed concrete habitat products for coastal developers and governments.
- Biohabitats: Biohabitats is an ecological restoration consultancy that designs and delivers river, wetland, and coastal habitat projects. Comparable to RDL in its scientist-designer collaborative model and its delivery of custom habitat restoration infrastructure.
- Reef Ball Foundation: Reef Ball Foundation manufactures standardized artificial reef modules (Reef Balls) deployed globally for habitat restoration. Direct peer in the artificial reef design and manufacturing category, with comparable government, NGO, and research-institution buyers.
Regional players
- Natural Systems Design: Natural Systems Design provides planning and engineering of nature-based shoreline, wetland, and coastal restoration solutions primarily in the Pacific Northwest. Comparable to RDL in its nature-based coastal restoration focus but geographically concentrated in North America.
Emerging players
- Living Shorelines Solutions: Living Shorelines Solutions is an emerging provider of nature-based shoreline stabilization and habitat creation products for waterfront property owners and municipalities. Comparable to RDL's Living Seawalls/Boulders product line as a smaller, niche-focused emerging player in living shoreline infrastructure.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Reef Design Lab social profiles
Digital presenceReef Design Lab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Reef Design Lab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Reef Design Lab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Reef Design Lab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Reef Design Lab
What does Reef Design Lab do?
Reef Design Lab designs, prototypes and manufactures unique coastal and marine habitat infrastructure products, including modular artificial reef systems (MARS, MARS II), Living Seawalls and Boulders, erosion mitigation units (EMU), mangrove planters and bespoke 3D printed reef units. The studio also provides full-service custom design, advanced digital fabrication, in-house manufacturing and end-to-end project delivery (site selection, deployment supervision, coral reef restoration) for governments, architects, builders and research institutions worldwide.
Is Reef Design Lab a public or private company?
Reef Design Lab is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Reef Design Lab founded?
Reef Design Lab was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Reef Design Lab based?
Reef Design Lab is headquartered in Mentone, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Reef Design Lab make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are custom Design & Manufacturing Services and project Management & Delivery.
Who are Reef Design Lab's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Tetra Tech, AECOM, WSP, Moffatt & Nichol and Arcadis. Direct peers are ECOncrete, Biohabitats and Reef Ball Foundation. Natural Systems Design is listed as a regional player. Living Shorelines Solutions is listed as an emerging player.
Does Reef Design Lab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Reef Design Lab.
What industry is Reef Design Lab in?
Reef Design Lab's product category is Marine Habitat Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAJAGAK, Production Design & Detailed Engineering (3D CAD, Drawings, BOM, Nesting), with a secondary code of IMAFAJAH, Navigation & Aids-to-Navigation Works (Beacons, Buoys, Markers). Its NAICS code is 54149.