Aquatic Surfacing Design Trends for 2023

With vibrant colors and limitless theming possibilities, aquatic surfacing designs continue to gain in popularity as a way to enhance splash pads, pool decks, and water parks. As this application evolves year after year, the Life Floor Studio takes note of the most popular design requests at different facilities worldwide. Curious to know where things stand in 2023? Explore these top aquatic surfacing trends we've been seeing so far! 

Detailed, Custom Imagery 

Wet’N’Wild Gold Coast

Since just about anything can be cut into our floors, we're seeing an increase in requests for custom design work. Some customers use this technique to illustrate a theme across a whole splash pad whereas others selectively add a few custom images as fun accent graphics. 

Bold Bands of Color 

Wells Park

As an alternate way to design with square tiles, several customers have resonated with large striped designs that showcase vibrant patterns or gradients of color. This application demonstrates a budget-friendly way to achieve a distinct and colorful effect.

More Complex Triangle Gradients 

Ever since our earliest triangle gradient designs debuted at locations like Cedarcrest Splash Pad and Atlantis the Palm Dubai, these continue to be some of our most popular styles. An evolution we've seen recently has been the request for more complex gradients. These include bright swirls of color, multiple islands across a splash pad, and more varied, artistic designs.

Unconventional Themes 

Manor Field Park

We've seen limitless creativity when it comes to designing aquatic spaces. Looking beyond typical water-based themes, some more recent splash pad designs have featured unique design ideas inspired by motifs like sports, winter, the forest, parks, and the desert. 

REFINED Geometric Designs 

Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa

For pool decks, country clubs, and high-end resorts, we've seen an increased interest in understated geometric designs. These patterns often use our triangle or rectangle tiles as well as our more muted or neutral color options. 

LOGOS THAT CELEBRATe BRANDS AND DESTINATIONS

Morey’s Piers

Since 2022, we’ve featured add-on packages that allow customers and designers to more easily include and price Logos and Inlays. As a result, we've seen an uptick in requests for custom branding. Municipalities and theme parks often choose to include logos as a powerful way to make their aquatic facilities more unique and memorable. 

Paths and Play Opportunities 

With themed Inlays that can be laid out to create a treasure hunt trail or a path of lily pads for hopping, customers are delighted to add activities to their floors. Beyond the increase in requests we're seeing here, classic play features in the Life Floor portfolio, like hopscotch, continue to stand the test of time. 

Elevated Aquatic Themes 

Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre

Since we're designing for areas with water, splash pads that feature aquatic theming will never fade in popularity. As an evolution of these designs, we've noticed facilities leaning into more turquoise and aqua tones over more traditional blues. As noted in some of the trends above, we've also seen more requests for custom imagery and the use of our Inlays to add theming and play value. 

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The Life Floor Studio continues to push the limits with our tile designs and can't wait to see how these trends keep evolving over time. Witnessing how surfacing completely transforms and brightens up facilities worldwide while creating positive experiences and memories for guests makes our work endlessly rewarding. 

Interested in exploring any of these options on a splash pad or pool deck? The Life Floor Studio offers complimentary design services and can't wait to help bring your project to life!  

How Long Will Life Floor Last?

With over 2,000 installations worldwide, Life Floor is trusted by leading brands and is the recommended surface for WhiteWater, Waterplay, and Rain Drop Products. Our tiles are made from a closed cell foam-rubber and we find that partners and customers are often curious about the general lifespan of our surfacing. While we offer a 5-year material warranty on our 3/8” thick tiles, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to durability. The following are a few factors to consider when assessing Life Floor for different environments.

TRAFFIC

Generally, after 10 million steps, our tiles will start to experience texture fading, reduced cushioning, and can potentially show small micro cracks from pool chemicals and UV exposure.

UV EXPOSURE

UV exposure is the greatest factor affecting durability. We’ve engineered our tiles to last in extreme UV climates like Miami for at least 5 years. If you fall into a climate zone with less UV exposure than climates closest to the equator, you can expect outdoor Life Floor installations to last between 7-10 years.

AVERAGE EXPECTATIONS

Indoor waterpark installations typically last 10-15 years. Outdoor splash pad installations typically last 7-10 years. Geographic location and volume of traffic often play a role in extending or shortening these expectations.

WHAT ABOUT COLD CLIMATES?

Life Floor is engineered to flex with the freeze and thaw cycles of seasons.

The top of Life Floor tiles may expand and contract with high and low temperatures. In winter months, contraction creates wider joints. In summer months, expansion creates tighter joints. Rapid temperature changes and/or wide swings have negligible impact on tile performance after installation. Approved contact cement adhesives keep the base of the tile secured to the underlayment or substrate.

Pictured above is one of our oldest outdoor splash pad installations at Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells. This splash pad has experienced TEN freeze-thaw cycles and is still performing great!

WHAT ABOUT COLOR LOSS?

We love design and we want every surface to look bold and bright for as long as possible. Colors generally fade in sunlight, but we’ve spent over a decade engineering our tiles to increase color longevity.

With our latest product innovations tailer to UV resistance, colors will stay vibrant through the warranty period when facilities follow proper water chemistry protocols and tile maintenance.

Want to learn about how our tiles are third-party tested for durability?
Read about how we meet the criteria for the NSF/ANSI/CAN 50 standard here.

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GET STARTED ON YOUR PROJECT TODAY

With complementary design services and a dedicated team ready to answer any questions, we can’t wait to identify a solution for your surfacing needs. Contact us to get the ball rolling!

AQUATIC SURFACING TRENDS FOR 2022

Historically in aquatics, surfacing design has defaulted to concrete or hasn't been given much attention at all. Today, more and more facilities are exploring flooring options that increase safety, enhance design, and improve play value. As we head into the new year, be on the lookout for these surfacing trends that are increasing in popularity on pool decks and splash pads around the world. 

1. THEMED DESIGNS

A greater number of splash pad and pool deck surfaces have been featuring theming to complement and enhance facility or play fixture designs. From tropical treasure hunts and undersea environments to desert landscapes and forests, adding this attention to detail at the surface level provides a more fully-themed experience for guests. Be on the lookout for these immersive flooring options as designers use surfacing as a way to tie projects together. 

2. SURFACING CERTIFIED FOR AQUATIC PLAY 

Since 2019, a standard has recommended that splash pad surfacing materials meet certain criteria. NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 uses third-party testing to evaluate products for slip-resistance, impact attenuation, chemical resistance, UV resistance, cleanability, and impermeability. As properties have begun to renovate existing facilities and plan for new ones, many have looked to this standard as a way to follow recommended best practices. 

3. ACCESSIBLE OPTIONS 

Accommodating guests of all ages and abilities is important to any facility design and surfacing can help achieve this goal. Cushioned and slip-resistant flooring options can allow guests to feel more sure-footed as they interact with environments traditionally known for being slippery when wet. Softer surfaces accommodate guests crawling or sitting on floors at aquatic facilities. Providing visual or tactile cues that indicate depth, surfacing, or feature transitions are further measures that help guests navigate these locations. Making facilities as accessible as possible allows the greatest range of guests to enjoy the amenities offered by them. 

4. BRIGHT, GEOMETRIC PATTERNS 

Many pool decks and splash pads are opting for fun patterning created by colorful, geometric shapes as a way to increase visual interest. Adding these designs at the surface level has proven to drastically improve the look of facilities that have been retrofitted.

5. INTEGRATING ACTIVITIES 

Certain flooring types can be designed to add activities to an aquatic surface. These can be games like hopscotch or checkers, paths to follow, hopping activities, objects to find or count, and life-sized 2D objects that inspire young imaginations. Adding these options into a surfacing design has the ability to increase play value and engagement at facilities. 

6. COLOR GRADIENTS 

As greater emphasis to design has been placed on flooring surfaces, adding color gradients has been a popular trend, especially those that evoke natural elements like shorelines. This effect is achieved through bands of color, mosaic effects, or geometric patterning. 

7. SHOWCASING BRANDING 

The ability to add logos and branding to aquatic surfaces has been increasing in popularity. Splash pads, cruise ships, universities, and athletic facilities have featured signature imagery, logos, hashtags, and colorways within their floors to reinforce specific brands. 

8. EASE OF SANITIZATION 

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, many facilities are imposing more stringent cleaning protocols to ensure guest health and safety. As a result, surfacing options that don't support microbial growth have been increasing in popularity. Attention to cleanability and impermeability can be helpful to improve ease of maintenance at these locations and provide a marketable benefit to patrons. 

9. DELINEATED ACTIVITY ZONES 

Splash pad designs have increasingly included a diversity of features that cater to different levels of development and age groups. Likewise, more play spaces are emerging that combine different zones of play such as a dry playground that transitions to a splash pad or a splash pad that transitions to a pool. As a result, using surfacing design to more clearly delineate different play areas has become a popular option. 

10. DESIGN FOR MULTI-GENERATIONAL ENGAGEMENT 

Parks, playgrounds, and splash pads are beginning to focus on design not only for children, but also for the comfort and enjoyment of multi-generational guests (who make up about 50% of patrons). This can be accomplished by adding shade structures, seating, and play elements that accommodate adults. At the surfacing level, cushioned, non-abrasive options provide comfort to sit or play on the floor, making it easier to interact with little ones in these environments. 

Have you noticed any other aquatic surfacing trends that you would add to our list? We'd love to hear about them in the comments below! 

If you’d like to discuss the ways that Life Floor can help achieve any of these items at a specific aquatic facility, contact our team to learn more.

A Brighter, Safer Pool Deck in New Ulm, MN

The New Ulm Family Recreation Center in New Ulm, Minnesota features a budget-friendly three-color Life Floor design with a unique visual approach. Bands of 5 to 9 full-sized square tiles create a striped gradient effect across this indoor pool deck. This design creates a subtle play opportunity for children following along paths or hopping from one color to the next while also retaining a modern, geometric feel for adult guests.

As individuals enter the pool area, they have many options to choose from for engagement. 

A prominent dual water slide exits into the pool connected to the  zero depth entry where a rainbow fish slide faces one of the entrances to the pool. This zero depth entry has several small spray jets and a water umbrella where toddlers and babies can play with their parents or guardians. 

In the neighboring pool, lap swim can be quickly converted into a unique NinjaCross feature that lowers into the water where guests can navigate through obstacles. In one corner of the pool, a rock climbing wall extends out of the water for guests to use. A hot tub is nestled into another corner of the room for guests to relax and watch the activities in the main pool.

“We love the new look of this! It feels so much better than the old stuff.”

— Anonymous Guest Comment

Guests can interact with these features while feeling the safety of Life Floor’s NSF/ANSI/CAN 50 certified surfacing underfoot. With added slip resistance and cushioning around the pool, guests of all ages can engage more safely and enjoy the experience more freely.

Thank you to the City of New Ulm, Minnesota for choosing Life Floor and to Inside Edge Safety Surfaces for installing this vibrant indoor pool deck. 

Are you wondering how you can also create a unique budget-friendly design for your facility? Contact our sales team today to have all your questions answered.

JUNGALA AQUA EXPERIENCE AT VIDANTA RIVIERA MAYA RESORT

In October 2020, “The World Waterpark Association recognized Jungala Aqua Experience with the 'Leading Edge' award for its extraordinary facilities, innovative concept, and exceptional customer service.” Jungala Aqua Experience has since become known for being a leader in guest experience and design both regionally in Mexico and internationally across the globe. By placing capacity limits on accommodations, this luxury resort is able to provide guests with an experience that truly feels unique, serene, and lavish. 

With lush forests on every side and a wide array of amenities available, the Jungala Aqua Experience, an “ultra-exclusive, low-density waterscape,” serves as a premium waterpark destination for guests.

Around the childrens’ slide area and beneath the RainFortress 5 multi-level play structure by WhiteWater is 17,760 sq ft (1,650 sq m) of Life Floor safety surfacing. Custom cut circles add colorful highlights to integrate seamlessly with the theme of the resort and provide a design that immerses and engages guests.

At a luxury resort such as Jungala, guest comfort and experience is absolute. Safety, comfort, design, and cleanliness are all qualities that visitors assess when choosing where to spend their vacations. Grupo Vidanta, the developer of Jungala Aqua Experience, was able to provide peace of mind for guests by choosing Life Floor’s cushioned and slip-resistant surfacing under WhiteWater’s RainFortress 5 and children’s slide areas. This flooring feature enables guests of all ages and abilities to play freely - skipping, jumping, crawling, and even cartwheeling - on a surface engineered specifically for aquatic recreation.

Thank you to WhiteWater West for their partnership in creating a safer and more enjoyable guest experience at Jungala Aqua Experience at Vidanta Riviera Maya Resort. For more information on how you can work with Life Floor and WhiteWater on your waterpark design, connect with us today.

ARE WE BUBBLE WRAPPING KIDS WITH SAFETY SURFACING IN AQUATICS?

Many adults today remember childhoods full of hot metal slides baking in the sun, sky-high monkey bars with rough concrete beneath them, and swings that soared above a seemingly endless expanse of worn grass. Today, you look around at playgrounds and see brightly colored plastic slides surrounded by sand, complex multi-level play structures with spongy surfaces waiting below, and zip lines with impact absorbing platforms on either side.

Photo Credit: Click Americana, Vintage and Retro Memories | 1900’s

Photo Credit: Landscape Structures | 2017

Seeing all of these cushioned corners and safety rails, the question lurks at the back of our minds, “Are we bubble wrapping kids?”

Now contrast that playful imagery of modern playgrounds with abrasive, injury-prone concrete surfaces that coat many splash pads and pool decks still today.

Consider the playground example: for decades playgrounds had no safety surfacing and as a result kids were injured often. Then wood chips, rubberized surfaces, sand, and other cushioned materials were introduced in an effort to promote play while mitigating injuries. The result was an environment that promotes play, reduces liability, and limits the number of serious play-related injuries.

Splash pads are essentially playgrounds with water, so why wouldn’t we treat them the same way?

When water is combined with concrete surfacing on splash pads, hydroplaning occurs and results in slip and fall accidents. These accidents typically involve concussions, road rash, and other major play-halting injuries due to the unsafe risks associated with concrete surfacing.

TYPES OF RISK

You may ask, “But isn’t it good for kids to learn how to handle risk and learn how to fall properly?”

We completely agree that learning how to fall is important, but injuries that halt play because of a concussion or broken limb are not acceptable. These injuries are avoidable, costly, and can have lasting negative implications. Simply put, there’s bad risk and there’s good risk. 

Bad risk is also known as a hazard and involves things that can cause harm to an individual such as sharp edges, hot surfaces, and hard impacts (1). This kind of risk does not allow for children to grow and learn positively - it often causes aversion to the source and triggers fear responses. Young toddlers are inherently clumsy and do not yet have full motor control of their limbs. When this clumsiness is paired with their inability to reason and determine dangerous situations, injuries can feel more terrifying and out-of-control. Often, when a child is injured they tend to associate the injury with their surroundings instead of the specific thing that hurt them which causes aversion to an environment (2).

Good risk is often associated with what we call ‘risky play.’ Risky play can appear in many different forms based on age, motor skills, and ability. Some types of risky play include (3): 

• Play with High Speed

• Rough and Tumble Play

• Play Near Dangerous Elements (Water)

Splash pads that feature concrete surfacing inhibit children from engaging in some of these types of risky play. When a surface is slip-resistant and cushioned instead, the opportunities for engaging a greater range of activities and types of risky play are more available. Children are able to run, hop, crawl, cartwheel, tumble, and move freely around a zone of water play in more ways than if safety surfacing wasn’t included on the splash pad. 

Like we said, kids are inherently clumsy and they will trip over their own feet and fall. However, when they do fall, our mission at Life Floor is to ensure they get right back up and continue imagining, learning, and creating their own world of risky play instead of getting injured and ending their day of family fun. 

NSF International agrees that splash pads need safety surfacing. In 2019 they passed NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50:26 outlining criteria for safety surfacing products which include slip-resistance and cushioning. They recognize that similar safety parameters are needed in comparison to dry playgrounds.

We don’t want kids to feel averse to aquatic facilities especially as they're first introduced to aquatics and water; we want to enable them to positively play, explore, and learn through these new experiences. 

SO TO ANSWER THE BURNING QUESTION:

No, we aren’t bubble wrapping kids with safety surfacing. We’re enabling risky play and we’re helping them avoid unnecessary hazards until they’re old enough to understand them. 

Let’s let them explore, run, jump, and play freely instead of telling them to walk slow and mind the slippery concrete in an effort to try and stay safe.

If you would like to continue the conversation, please email us at solutions@lifefloor.com to share your ideas.

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Related Articles:

The Benefits of Diversifying Play Features in Aquatic Environments

Including Play Elements in Splash Pad Surface Design

The Importance of Free Play in Aquatic Environments

Pairing Safety Surfacing with Risky Play at Costa Bavaro Resort

Putting Humane Design Into Perspective

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Sources:

1. Ken Kutska | Executive Director of the International Playground Safety Institute | Past president of NRPA | Chair of the ASTM F15.29 Subcommittee for performance requirements for public play equipment.

2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/201609/21-common-reactions-trauma

3. Source: Sandsetter, Ellen Beate Hansen (2009): "Characteristics of Risky Play". Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning. 9:1, 3-21.

LIFE FLOOR + WHITEWATER PARTNERSHIP

Bringing non-slip cushioned surfaces to the world WhiteWater is very pleased to have entered an exclusive distribution agreement with Life Floor for the global water park market. Life Floor’s patented foam-rubber flooring system significantly reduces slips and falls, the #1 cause of water park injuries. However, with Life Floor, when a fall does occur, bumps and bruises are minimized. This is a game-changing product for the water park industry because as every owner and operator knows, the majority of water park injuries occur in this category.

“The partnership further confirms WhiteWater’s designs and product offerings as the safest in the industry,”

— Geoff Chutter, WhiteWater’s President and CEO

DELIVERING FUN - SAFELY

Jonathan Keller, Life Floor’s CEO, sums up the announcement of this new partnership, “Working with WhiteWater, the market leader, was an obvious choice to access a wider market, but we’ve also found that the missions which drive our companies are very aligned. Both companies are single-minded about delivering fun safely with the highest quality products available. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we are excited by the opportunities that this agreement represents.”

Chris Biancofiore, the Product Manager for WhiteWater’s wide range of interactive water play products and attractions, commented, “On Life Floor, kids feel safer and freer to push their boundaries without the fear of getting hurt…simply put, they play differently.  The forgiving surface isn’t abrasive, so it’s soft on bare feet and won’t skin knees.  As a result, the only tears will come from when they’re told it’s time to leave the park.”

MORE THAN JUST SAFETY

Life Floor is longer-lasting and stays cleaner. While Life Floor’s non-slip ‘soft fall’ is its biggest benefit, its quality manufacturing also makes it incredibly durable. The completely waterproof tiles will not absorb water or other liquids and last as long underwater as they do above water. Its closed-cell construction does not support the growth of microbes.

Virtually impossible to stain, its more resistant to chlorine and UV exposure than other rubber composite products on the market, making Life Floor not just a safety choice, but an economical one as well.

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About WhiteWater

WhiteWater, The Water Parks and Attractions Company, is the leading global designer and manufacturer of innovative water park products and active family attractions for world-class clients. We specialize in water slides, multi-level water play structures, wave-generating equipment, FlowRider® stationary surfing machines, harnessed attractions, interactive play, and water rides. WhiteWater is dedicated to providing the ultimate WOW experiences to our clients and their guests by delivering projects on time, on budget, and to the industry’s highest quality and safety standards. Our industry-leading innovation is driven by a team of 600 extremely talented employees in eight offices around the world working together to complete over 5,000 projects since 1980. Recently, WhiteWater was awarded Canada’s Best Managed Companies designation for its excellence in management and business practices.

Una de Boer | Director of Marketing
+1.604.249.3432 | una.deboer@whitewaterwest.com
whitewaterwest.com

About Life Floor

Life Floor manufactures Life Floor tiles, a foam-rubber flooring system designed for use in wet areas with barefoot traffic. Created as an alternative to concrete and other conventional materials, Life Floor is the only safety surface specifically designed and engineered to perform in aquatic environments. Life Floor combines award-winning safety with unparalleled design capabilities, delivered by an expert team committed to a world-class experience for everyone who interacts with our products. All over the world, people trust Life Floor to make their aquatic environments look and feel extraordinary. Life Floor was founded in 2011, and has served the biggest names in water parks, including Carnival Cruise Line, LEGOLAND, Cedar Fair, and Great Wolf Lodge. In 2016, Life Floor became the only surfacing company ever to win the World Waterpark Association's prestigious Kelly Ogle Memorial Safety Award.

Gwen Ruehle | Vice President, Business Development
+1.612.405.2718 | gwen.ruehle@lifefloor.com
lifefloor.com

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FAQS

Who is WhiteWater West Industries (WWI)?

The Original Waterpark Company! Founded in 1980, WWI helped start the World Waterpark Association and are the oldest manufacturer of fiberglass water slides. They are also the largest supplier of equipment (slides, wave pools, surfing machines, play structures) in the entire world, in fact their business is as large as all of their competitors combined. They have done over 6000 projects in the 38 years they have been in business. To get a sense of scale, if they were to install Life Floor around all of their previous projects, that would require more than 60 million square feet of Life Floor.

At this point, WWI does everything from designing, specifying, planning, supplying, managing projects, and helping maintain waterparks and theme parks all over the world. Their largest markets are China, the United States, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, and they complete from 170-220 projects per year.

What does this partnership mean for Life Floor?

Life Floor is now WWI’s recommended safety surface. Soon, Life Floor will be included in all designs for water park Multi-Level Play Structure (MLP) equipment, as well as on applications such as slide towers, wave pools, and around FlowRiders and slide pads.

How did this partnership happen?

WWI and Life Floor both value safety, and the partnership is focused on safety first and foremost. We believe that bringing the leader in aquatic safety surfacing design and manufacture in partnership with the leader in water park design and manufacture will create safer aquatic recreation experiences for potentially millions of people.

How will this partnership work for customers?

New water park customers interested in purchasing and installing MLPs can obtain Life Floor for their facility by working exclusively through WWI.

If you are a water park customer with a preexisting relationship with Life Floor, you may contact either Life Floor or WWI directly for MLPs and other projects.

If your park does not have WhiteWater equipment, you can still buy from Life Floor directly.

What about splash pads?

Given our commitment to splash pad safety via our work with NSF-50, Life Floor will still be selling splash pad surfacing directly to clients.

Has WWI purchased Life Floor?

WWI has not purchased Life Floor. Life Floor remains an independent company, and we look forward to seeing how this partnership will serve the waterpark industry going forward. 

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If you have any questions about how this partnership affects you, or how to best obtain Life Floor for a project, please contact solutions@lifefloor.com.