What Aquatic Design Group does

Aquatic Design Group is a privately held, full-service aquatic architecture and engineering firm founded in 1984 and headquartered in Carlsbad, California, with a secondary office in Washington D.C. The firm delivers architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical design services for swimming pools and water features across competition, recreation, leisure, therapy, and ornamental typologies. Its service portfolio spans the full project lifecycle — assessment, planning, design, engineering, and construction administration — and includes specialized capabilities such as elevated/on-structure pool design and waterslide complex engineering.

The company serves five primary B2B verticals: Municipalities, K-12 Education, Higher Education, Waterparks, and Hospitality, with secondary use-case segments in elevated pools and decorative water features. Named clients include Aria Resort Casino and Spa, Choctaw Casino & Resort, The Seabird Resort / Mission Pacific Hotel, UCLA Spieker Aquatic Center, Mt. San Antonio College, Orange Coast College, the Lawrenceville School, the City of Dublin, and the City of Carlsbad. To date, the firm has completed more than 3,500 projects spanning 47 U.S. states and 32 countries.

The business model is professional services: revenue is generated through custom, project-based design and engineering fees quoted individually based on scope, complexity, and facility type. Engagement cycles span multi-year municipal and institutional capital project timelines. The firm markets primarily through its case-study portfolio, industry awards (notably recurring inclusion in Athletic Business Magazine's Aquatic Design Portfolio), and direct client engagement. No funding rounds, acquisitions, or inorganic growth signals are present in the available data, indicating the firm has scaled entirely organically through professional services billings over four decades.

Name

Aquatic Design Group

Legal name

Aquatic Design Group, Inc.

Website

https://aquaticdesigngroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aquatic Design Group is a privately held aquatic architecture and engineering firm founded in 1984, delivering full-service design for pools and water features to municipalities, K-12 and higher education institutions, waterparks, and hospitality operators across 47 U.S. states and 32 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aquatic Architecture and Engineering Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Aquatic Centers & Swimming Facilities (MPAKAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Park Design, Engineering & Construction (Master Planning, Build) (THAAABAJ), Water Features Design & Installation (Ponds, Fountains, Waterfalls) (HSAIABAE), Resort & Hotel Water Parks (On-Property Guest-Access Parks) (THAAABAC), Outdoor Water Parks (Wave Pools, Lazy Rivers, Slides) (THAAABAA)

Keywords

• Aquatic facility design
• Pool architecture services
• Swimming pool engineering
• Water feature design
• Aquatic consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Carlsbad

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Design and Engineering Services: Professional services revenue generated through providing aquatic architecture and engineering design, consulting, and construction administration services for swimming pools, water features, and aquatic facilities. Services include programming, planning, construction documents, and construction observation as required for project completion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Aquatic Design Group is a full-service aquatic architecture and engineering firm providing architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical design for swimming pools and water features. Services span competition, recreation, leisure, therapy, and ornamental/natural water features, delivered from initial concept and assessment through planning, construction documents, and construction observation. The firm primarily serves municipalities, K-12 and higher education institutions, waterpark operators, hospitality/resort developers, and healthcare facilities.

Product overview

Aquatic Design Group is an aquatic architecture and engineering design firm offering a comprehensive suite of design services for aquatic facilities. Their core offering encompasses architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical design services for swimming pools and water features across market segments including municipalities, K-12 schools, higher education institutions, hospitality resorts, waterparks, and healthcare facilities. The company's service portfolio includes competition pool design, recreation pool design, therapy pool design, water feature design, splash pad and spray ground design, elevated pool design, waterslide complex design, and construction observation services. They specialize in all types of water including competition, recreation, leisure, therapy, and ornamental water features, serving clients in 47 states and 32 countries around the world since 1984.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aquatic Architecture & Engineering Design Services Full-service aquatic facility design service encompassing architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering for swimming pools and water features across municipal, K-12, higher education, hospitality, and healthcare market segments. Delivered from initial concept and assessment through planning, construction documents, and construction observation.
• Competition Pool Design
• Recreation Pool Design Design of recreation pools featuring zero-depth entry, lazy rivers, water play structures, interactive spray features, waterslides, and family-friendly aquatic environments for community recreation centers.
• Therapy Pool Design Design of hydrotherapy pools, warm-water teaching pools, and therapy spas with current channels, vortex features, and accessibility features for rehabilitation and wellness programs.
• Water Feature Design Design of ornamental and decorative water features including fountains, cascading water elements, civic ponds, interactive water features, and landscape-integrated water installations.
• Splash Pad & Spray Ground Design Design of interactive splash pads and spray grounds with themed water play elements, water jets, spray heads, and inclusive accessibility features for outdoor recreation areas.
• Elevated Pool Design Design of on-structure and rooftop pools for high-rise residential, hotel, and mixed-use developments, including structural engineering for elevated aquatic facilities.
• Waterslide Complex Design Design and engineering of waterslide attractions including open-flume body slides, enclosed flume slides, drop slides, speed slides, and multi-slide complexes with receiving pools.
• Construction Observation Services On-site construction observation and administration services to ensure design specifications are met during the building process, from concept through project completion.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,500+ projects completed over 40 years of operation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Myrtha Pools: Italian-based modular pool design and manufacturing company serving competition, recreation and aquatic center markets. Adjacent but overlapping with ADG on competition pool projects.
• WhiteWater West Industries: Canadian-based water park design, equipment manufacturing and attractions provider. Overlaps with ADG on water park and resort pool design but operates upstream as equipment supplier with global scale.

Broad incumbents

• Sasaki Associates: International design firm with interdisciplinary practice including landscape architecture and aquatics-related campus and public realm projects. Larger incumbent with adjacent design capabilities.
• Populous (HOK Sport): Global architecture firm designing major sports and entertainment venues including collegiate and professional aquatic facilities. Larger incumbent that occasionally competes on flagship aquatic projects.

Direct peers

• Water Technology, Inc. Beaver Dam, WI-based aquatic design, engineering and recreation planning firm serving municipalities, waterparks and educational clients. Closest head-to-head competitor with analogous service model and end-market exposure.
• Crystal Fountains: Mississauga-based design, engineering and manufacturing firm for architectural water features and fountains. Directly comparable in the water feature design and engineering niche.
• Cloward H2O: Aquatic design firm specializing in pools, water features and aquatic centers across resort, recreation and municipal markets. Directly comparable specialty design services competitor.
• WET Design: Los Angeles-based water feature design and engineering firm known for landmark fountains and aquatic installations. Directly comparable specialized design services and intersection with ADG's water feature segment.
• Martin Aquatic: Aquatic design firm specializing in pools, water features and aquatic centers for resort, recreation and entertainment clients. Comparable B2B design services model and customer profile.
• Counsilman-Hunsaker: St. Louis-based aquatic consulting, planning and design firm with a comparable specialty focus on competition, recreation and therapy pool projects. Direct overlap with ADG's core municipal, education and collegiate aquatic center offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/adg_ae

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aquatic Design Group