The Wave Garden Lab The first private wave pool dedicated to continuous R&D
Located in the Basque Country, the original Wavegarden Cove prototype has recently been transformed and extended to provide an increased variety of waves and new design features to ensure thorough testing of the upgraded technology before commercial use. The full-sized prototype had been pivotal in modelling the leading wave generation technology that makes waves successfully at eight commercial facilities worldwide. However, its small footprint had placed limits on research and development. Until now.
“We have been redesigning and rebuilding the demo center by extending the existing wave generator to produce longer ride times of up to 14 seconds and larger waves up to 2.2m high. We have improved the take-off and end sections, created a 7-second barrel, and new air sections,” said Josema Odriozola, Founder and CEO of Wavegarden. “We adjusted the bathymetry, updated the areas along the shoreline, added glass panels behind the take-off area, and removed some unnecessary walls to provide a more natural environment and improve the aesthetics.”
With investment in a surf park currently running between 15 million and 30 million euros, there is zero room for error when it comes to the construction and provision of technology at new facilities. With the Wavegarden Lab being the first private, full-size test center for the R&D of artificial wave generation in the industry, it means every possible component of the civil works are tested. With a continuous cycle of waves that can run 24/7, the engineers can test the mechanical parts, water treatment, filtration, coating and cleaning systems and changes in bathymetry. This makes Wavegarden Lab the most advanced R&D centre for artificial wave generation technology.
A significant advancement in the technology is the ability to program solitary waves every 15–30 seconds throughout the entire duration of a session, instead of grouping them in sets with 7-8 second intervals.
Of course, a world-class testing facility needs world-class surfers to test the waves. The Wavegarden Lab is located an hour’s drive from the surfing epicentres of Hossegor and Mundaka, and just 10 minutes from the Basque Coast.
With surfing in the Olympics, facilities like this are even more relevant for the future. For example, Italian CT surfer and Olympian Leo Fioravanti has made regular visits in the past months to train and refine his repertoire of aerials, such as the Stale Fish, Backflip, and higher Alley Oops. Training is enhanced by a replay screen located at the take-off and CheckMySurf, the automatic recording system that captures every wave ridden.
Wavegarden is the first company to have its own dedicated R&D facility for artificial wave generation and high performance surfing technologies and with 8 other surf parks operating successfully around the world, 10 projects currently under construction and over 50 projects in the development phase, Wavegarden remains the undisputed leader in the industry.
