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Who designs splash pads professionally?
Quick answer
Splash pads are designed by licensed landscape architects and civil engineers, often in collaboration with manufacturer in-house design teams (Vortex, Waterplay, Empex, Aquatix) and specialty firms like Aquatic Design Group, Counsilman-Hunsaker, and Water Technology Inc. Smaller projects use the manufacturer's design service.
Splash pad design talent comes from three pools. First, manufacturer in-house design teams: Vortex Aquatic Structures, Waterplay Solutions, Empex Watertoys, Aquatix by Landscape Structures, and RainDeck all employ licensed designers who produce schematic-through-construction documents at low or no cost when you buy their equipment. Second, specialty aquatic-design firms: Aquatic Design Group (Carlsbad CA), Counsilman-Hunsaker (St. Louis), Water Technology Inc. (Beaver Dam WI), Stantec Aquatics, and B&B Pool and Spa specialize in splash pads, pools, and water features at a higher fee but with deeper engineering rigor. Third, general landscape architecture and civil engineering firms (Sasaki, OLIN, MIG, Stantec, Kimley-Horn) handle splash pads as part of broader park projects. The choice depends on project scale: under $300K usually goes manufacturer-direct, $300K-$1.5M goes specialty firm, and master-planned park redevelopments go big multidisciplinary firm.