Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering, a world-class aquatic firm, is celebrating its success at the World Waterpark Association (WWA), where the firm won a Leading Edge Award for its design of the Island Waterpark at Showboat Hotel.
The award was presented to the firm at the WWA’s 2023 Symposium & Trade Show, which took place in New Orleans. This honour is the latest in a series of accolades for Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering, which include being selected as a STOKE industry member.
One-of-a-kind destination
Island Waterpark opened in July to critical acclaim for bringing family-friendly entertainment options to Atlantic City. The WWA’s Leading Edge Award is the highest honour in the waterpark sector, and recognises parks and suppliers such as Martin Aquatic for their creativity in developing new themes, amenities, services, or operational ideas.
At 100,000 square feet, Island Waterpark is the biggest indoor-outdoor beachfront waterpark in the United States. The park’s retractable glass OpenAire roof allows it to stay open all year round, offering families visiting Atlantic City a new entertainment option.
A major feature which was designed by Martin Aquatic is “Slide Island,” a multi-level structure surrounded by a 500-foot lazy river. This structure is the first AquaForms 12 by WhiteWater structure in the world, with 12 platforms, 5 slides, 55 play features, and a 317-gallon tipping bucket.
Two distinctive slide structures provide multi-person innertube slides for families as well as thrilling head-first mat racers for friendly competitive fun. The waterpark caters to all ages, with two additional pools for kids and adults.
Josh Martin, president & creative director of Martin Aquatic, comments: “We were incredibly honored to take home a Leading Edge Award for Island Waterpark. This project represented an incredible design process for our team that started work in the middle of the pandemic. We took some exciting risks in designing the park that culminated in a truly one-of-a-kind Aquatic Leisure Destination.”
Industry accolades
In addition to its design capabilities, Martin Aquatic develops new technologies, such as the Blue Mar Basins system for creating multi-acre lagoons.
Martin Aquatic and its Blue Mar Basins technology recently passed the vetting process to become an industry member of STOKE, the world’s first sustainability certification body with standards designed specifically for surf and ski tourism operators, destinations, and affiliated events.
Dr Jess Ponting, STOKE’s chief research officer and co-founder, says: “We are delighted to welcome Martin Aquatic, and Blue Mar Basins technology in particular, as a STOKE industry member. STOKE reviewed Blue Mar Basins’ technical specifications and concur with Martin Aquatic’s assertions that the technology offers very significant water, energy, and chemical use savings and efficiencies compared with classic sand filtration units. These savings benefit both the environment and the Op Ex of surf park developments.”
Martin Aquatic is already designing and developing a number of Blue Mar Basins lagoons, some of which will include features for surfing. The most recently announced project is a 20-acre surfable lake at Thermal Beach Club, which will be powered by Endless Surf and will soon commence construction.
Furthermore, Martin Aquatic was selected as one of the GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Honorees, a statewide business award programme which judges second-stage companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace through innovative strategies and processes. Martin Aquatic is one of 50 companies that are expanding in terms of employees and sales while also making an impact in their respective industries.
Finally, Aquatics International’s annual list of Dream Designs was released earlier this summer and honoured Martin Aquatic’s project Margaritaville Beach Resort in Nassau, Bahamas. The resort’s oceanfront “Fins Up Waterpark” features 65,000 square feet of poolscape, including a lazy river, waterslides, FlowRider surf simulator, and zero-entry pool.
Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering appointed Alessandro Orio as its new vice president for Blue Mar Basins earlier this year. Orio will oversee significant developments using the company’s patent-pending technology for multi-acre aquatic amenities.
