Wavegarden SL is an

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

enterprise dedicated to the

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

, installation, commissioning and promotion of wave generating systems and lagoons for surfing. The company's headquarters are in the Basque Country near

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

Northern Spain Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 82 percent) of the Iberian Peninsula. It also includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia, as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Is ...

. The company employs over 60 full time staff with departments in

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

and

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

fluid dynamics In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in motion ...

software development Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

business development Business development entails tasks and processes to develop and implement growth opportunities within and between business organizations. It is a subset of the fields of business, commerce and organizational theory. Business development is the cre ...

and operations. All technologies are developed in-house and the company holds a range of international patents. Today, 6 Wavegarden surf parks are in operation: Adventure Park Snowdonia, North Wales; The Wave Bristol, England; URBNSURF in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

; Wavepark, Sihueng,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

; Alaia Bay, Sion, Switzerland and Lost Shore Surf Resort,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Other Wavegarden surf parks are under construction in Brazil: Praia da Grama in San Paulo and Surfland in Garopaba. A further 30 projects are being developed in countries across 5 continents.

History

Wavegarden was founded in 2005 in San Sebastián, Spain by spouses Josema Odriozola (Engineer) and Karin Frisch (Sports Economist), both avid surfers, who aimed to reproduce an authentic surfing experience beyond the ocean. Their objective was to find a way to share surfing with more people around the world by fusing science and creativity. This eventually led to the creation of modern day surfing lagoons with unlimited ocean-like waves.

2005-2009 Research phase

Different artificial wave prototypes for surfing are explored, both circular and linear.

2010 First man-made waves are produced in Spain

The first surfable ocean-like wave is made. The system comprises a hydrodynamic wavefoil that moves at floor level that leads to the formation of a breaking wave. Bewildered by the unusual sight of waves breaking in a mountain backdrop a range of top professionals including former world champions Mick Fanning, Gabriel Medina, make folklore by surfing the artificial knee-high waves.

2012-13 Creation of Wavegarden Lagoon

Creation of the first bi-directional surfing lagoon with perfect left and right hand waves. The demo model measures 220 x 50m and has a bidirectional wavefoil. It creates 120 waves per hour that stand 1.20 m (4.25 ft) high and rides extend for 20 seconds long. Professional surfers Taj Burrow and Dane Reynolds validate the surfability of the waves.

2015 First Wavegarden Lagoon opens in the U.K

Opening of the world's first public Wavegarden surfing facility Surf Snowdonia in North Wales, U.K. Developed by Conwy Adventure Leisure Ltd. at a cost of £12 million. In the first 12 months, visitation reached 150,000 people, with 30,000 waves being created. The first international surf event in a wave pool, the Red Bull Unleashed, was staged and won by Hawaiian surfer Albee Layer. In 2019 Surf Snowdonia modified their trading name to Adventure Parc Snowdonia.

2016 Second Wavegarden Lagoon opens in USA

Opening of the second public surfing facility featuring a Wavegarden Lagoon in Austin, Texas.

2016-2017 Construction of First Wavegarden Cove demo model

Construction of the first Wavegarden Cove demo facility, a new generation technology capable of making up to 1000 waves per hour. The modular electro mechanical system marks a departure from the wavefoil system and its limitations of wave frequency and variety. Wave settings are adjustable with the aid of a customized software program and a push button control panel. Offering an infinite variety of waves for all surfing levels, the highest user capacities and highest energy efficiency and an authentic surf experience, this patented technology is now referred to as the best artificial wave technology in the world.

2019 42 module first full-size Wavegarden Cove opens in Bristol, England

The world’s first commercial Wavegarden Cove facility opened to the public: The Wave Bristol, England, UK.a £25 million project, based in Easter Compton.

2020 46 module Wavegarden Cove opens in Melbourne, Australia

URBNSURF Melbourne, Australia becomes the second Wavegarden Cove to open publicly. Located in Tullamarine, adjacent the Melbourne airport, the park spans 2.2 hectares, can generate up to 30 different wave types and has a surfer capacity of 84 surfers per hour. 1 The park adopted a utilitarian and sustainable design approach by using 18,000 ton of recycled concrete to form the base and walls of the lagoon, making it the largest recycled concrete structure in Australia. Melbourne-born Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth joined professional surfers Julian Wilson and Sally Fitzgibbons at the opening ceremony. Visitation for the first quarter of 2020 was recorded at 65,000 people.

56 module Wavegarden Cove opens in Siheung, South Korea

Wave Park is Asia’s biggest surf park and the centerpiece of a new luxury marine complex. Located just 30 min. from Seoul’s Int. Incheon Airport it’s the largest Wavegarden Cove built to date. Wave Park is located on a new 167,000 m2 waterfront development on Turtle Island. The first stage of the project was completed in just 18 months and provides aquatic activities like kayaking, SUP and swimming in zones with and without waves. Stage 2 of the development includes six hotels, convention centers, marinas and museums.

March 2021 Wavegarden arrives to the Swiss Alps

On 1 May 2021, Alaia Bay opened in

Sion, Switzerland Sion (, ; former ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town, a municipality, and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Valais and of the district of Sion (district), Sion. it had a population of (known as '' ...

. It is the first surf pool open to the public in

mainland Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by so ...

July 2021 The first Wavegarden of Americas is set to open in Brazil

The first surf park of Latin America located in the countryside 45 minutes from Sao Paulo.

Technology

In 2010 Wavegarden established an R&D Center in the Basque Country, Spain and have maintained a strict approach to research ever since. Thanks to the full-size test facilities, Wavegarden’s engineers can thoroughly test technologies and products before they are brought to market. Computer simulations and scale model testing are performed prior to their transformation into full-size demo models. Wavegarden has developed two different technologies to produce perfect surfing waves beyond the ocean: Wavegarden Lagoon (not available anymore) and The Wavegarden Cove. The new Wavegarden Cove technology marks a departure from standard foil systems. The machinery is modular, eschewing complicated hydraulic or pneumatic systems in favor of a smart and robust electro mechanical system. Each module unit has several devices that work in sequence to push out water. As the wave travels down the wave pool modules activate to push the wave further down the line. A standard size facility like Urbnsurf Melbourne has 46 of these modules and offers rides up to 16 seconds long. Longer rides are possible in larger facilities. Consequently, very little energy is lost in the transmission of forces, which keeps running costs at a minimum and makes the Wavegarden Cove the most energy-efficient technology on the market today. The versatility of the technology allows to change wave height, shape and power in an instant to match the experience level of all surfers and allows to can adjust the number of waves to cater precisely for the number of surfers in the water. The size of a standard Wavegarden Cove facility measures 160x160m, although the footprint is fully customizable to all types of projects including stand-alone projects, mixed use schemes, surf resorts, private residential developments, hotels and commercial centers. To keep the water crystal clear and hygienically safe, each Wavegarden Cove is supplied with its own state-of-the-art water treatment system. Developed in-house, the system is based on a series of sustainable treatments including fine filtration, ozone & UV disinfection, and low chemical chlorination. Wavegarden Cove facilities are fitted with the access points and amenities for handicapped.

Wavegarden surf lagoons

* On August 1, 2015 the first Wavegarden lagoon,

Surf Snowdonia Adventure Parc Snowdonia, formerly Surf Snowdonia, was an adventure park and tourist attraction, incorporating an artificial wave pool, at Dolgarrog in the Conwy valley, north Wales, owned by Conwy Adventure Leisure Ltd. It was the world's fi ...

Dolgarrog Dolgarrog is a village and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales, situated between Llanrwst and Conwy, very close to the Conwy River. The village is well known for its industrial history since the 18th century an ...

, North Wales, opened to the public. *

NLand NLand Surf Park is an inland surfing destination near Austin, Texas, located ten minutes from Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 4836 East Highway 71, Del Valle, Texas 78617. The park offers surfi ...

Surf Park in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, Texas featured their second commercial lagoon when it opened for business on 7 Oct 2016. * 2019 The Wave in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, the first Wavegarden Cove lagoon opens to public. * 2020 URBNSURF becomes Australia's first surf park opened to public * 2020 WAVE PARK, Asia’s biggest surf park is the centerpiece of a new luxury marine complex * 2021 Alaïa Bay in Sion, Switzerland, the first Surf Park in Continental Europe has opened. * 2021 Praia da Grama, an inland tropical surf beach in Brazil. The first surf park in the world located inside a residential complex. * 2024 Lost Shore Surf Resort has opened in

, Scotland.

References

{{Reflist Engineering companies of Spain Basque companies Organisations based in San Sebastián 2005 establishments in the Basque Country (autonomous community)