Brisbane-based aquatic design and manufacturing business Atlantis Liquid Dynamics has been named a finalist in the 2026 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards, recognising the business’s rapid rise and distinctly Australian approach to aquatic design, manufacturing and placemaking.
Founded in Brisbane in 2022, Atlantis has spent just four years building a specialist capability that challenges the traditional model of imported, catalogue-based aquatic infrastructure.
Today, the Richlands-based business designs, engineers and manufactures bespoke aquatic environments for councils, developers and design professionals across Australia — bringing disciplines that are typically spread across multiple businesses together under one roof.
For National Manager Stu Lierich, the significance of the finalist announcement goes beyond the recognition itself.
“The Lord Mayor’s Business Awards have recognised business excellence in Brisbane for more than two decades, so to be named a finalist is a big moment for us,” Stu said.
“Atlantis is proud to be part of Brisbane’s growth story, and it’s fantastic to see the team and capability we’ve built recognised alongside some of the city’s other leading businesses.”
That capability has translated into some of Australia’s most ambitious aquatic projects, from the $4.93 million award-winning Port Douglas Splashpark to bespoke aquatic elements at Rocks Riverside Park in Brisbane, the Adelaide Aquatic Centre redevelopment and upcoming Newcastle Foreshore revitalisation.
But its point of difference goes beyond what it makes. Rather than starting with a product catalogue, Atlantis starts with the place, the people and the opportunity — then brings design, engineering, prototyping, manufacturing and delivery together to find the right solution.
It is an approach that gives clients a single accountable partner while allowing the Atlantis team to test ideas, resolve technical challenges and refine designs before they reach fabrication.
“It’s a very different way of operating,” Stu said.
“We don’t just take standard product and try to make it fit a project. We want to understand what the project is trying to achieve, what the community needs and what’s possible — and then work out how we can make that happen.”
That philosophy has taken Atlantis well beyond its Brisbane beginnings, with more than 100 projects delivered across tourism attractions, civic infrastructure and major aquatic developments. Now it’s drawing international interest.
“What’s exciting now is the interest we’re seeing from overseas,” said Head of Marketing & Growth, Christy Gridley.
“Our work is distinctive enough to travel, and that opens up a whole new conversation about what Australian design and manufacturing can achieve.”
But it’s not just about competing in the market — it’s about changing what the market expects.
Atlantis is helping shift the perception of aquatic infrastructure from something that is simply functional or designed primarily for children, to something that can be architectural, artistic and deeply connected to its surroundings.
Its projects are increasingly designed as destinations in their own right, considered alongside landscape, architecture and public realm rather than added to them as an afterthought.
That means creating water experiences that appeal across generations, from young children discovering water play for the first time to teenagers, parents, grandparents and visitors who may never have considered themselves the target audience for an aquatic space.
“Water has always had this incredible ability to bring people together,” Christy said.
“What we’re trying to do is unlock more of that potential. It can be playful and fun, but it can also be beautiful, unexpected and genuinely memorable.”
For Stu, that means challenging some long-held assumptions about what aquatic infrastructure should look like.
“We’re not interested in making something that looks like it could be dropped into any park in the country,” he said.
“The best projects feel like they belong there. They respond to the architecture, the landscape, the story of the place and the people who are going to use it.”
It is this combination of design ambition and technical capability, built from the ground up in Brisbane, that has seen Atlantis recognised as a finalist in this year’s Lord Mayor’s Business Awards.
The winners of the 2026 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards will be revealed at a gala event at Brisbane City Hall on Friday, 30 October.