Dive Into The Latest Luxury Pool Design Innovations From SICIS

For decades, SICIS has been recognized globally for its luxury glass mosaics, supplying some of the world’s most ambitious hospitality, spa, and residential projects. Today, however, the Italian design company is pushing far beyond traditional mosaic applications and into a new category of architectural glass innovation that could reshape luxury pool and outdoor living design in the years ahead.

During a recent interview with Pool Magazine, Julio Velez, Director of Sales for SICIS North America, discussed how the company is introducing illuminated glass surfaces, decorative architectural panels, reflective submerged finishes, and immersive design concepts that are beginning to influence high-end aquatic environments around the world.

One of the projects Velez is most excited about is SICIS’s first underlit pool installation, utilizing large-format decorative glass panels beneath the surface of the water.

“One of the luxury swimming pool projects that we’re most proud of is the first underlit pool using large glass panels,” said Velez. “This project, located in Cambodia, is absolutely a first of its kind.”

Illuminated Pool Floors Push Aquatic Design Forward

The project Velez referenced was the striking installation at Olympic Villa in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where SICIS developed a raised-floor system utilizing illuminated Vetrite glass panels beneath the pool floor. Instead of relying exclusively on traditional underwater lighting fixtures, the pool itself became an architectural light feature capable of glowing from beneath the water’s surface.

“That’s our Vetrite product,” explained Velez. “We’ve evolved over the years. We’re most well known for our glass mosaic, but today we’re a full architectural glass company.”

SICIS’ evolution reflects the growing demand for immersive luxury environments. “Pools no longer function as standalone amenities,” said Julio Velez, Director of Sales for SICIS North America. “Today’s integrated design experiences connect architecture, lighting, wellness, and outdoor living.”

He compared Vetrite to the rise of large-format porcelain slab systems now commonly used throughout luxury residential and hospitality projects.

“If you’re familiar with gauge porcelain or porcelain panels, we have a similar product to that just made out of glass panels, laminated glass panels,” Velez said. “They come four feet by ten feet approximately.”

The applications extend well beyond the pool itself. SICIS utilizes the material for walls, countertops, flooring, illuminated architectural features, and decorative installations throughout both residential and commercial environments.

What separates the company from conventional surface manufacturers is its emphasis on turning glass into decorative art.

“What we do special is how we decorate the glass, how we turn ordinary glass panels into art,” said Velez. “We have stone look, antique mirror, panels that look like leather, textiles.”

SICIS creates these decorative treatments by laminating a series of interlayers between sheets of glass, producing a broad range of visual textures, patterns, and effects designers can integrate into luxury aquatic spaces.

Although SICIS offers hundreds of colors across its mosaic and decorative glass collections, Velez noted that one trend is currently standing out this pool season.

“Emerald green has become one of the hottest trends right now,” he said. “We can’t keep enough of that product in stock.”

According to Velez, pool design has gradually shifted away from traditional bright blue finishes and toward more natural lagoon-inspired aesthetics over the past several years.

“We started seeing lagoon-style pools gain popularity, with designers using dark, earthy black, iridescent, gray, and even white colors in their projects,” he explained.

That movement closely mirrors larger luxury outdoor living trends emphasizing organic palettes, natural reflections, and environments that feel more integrated with surrounding architecture and landscaping.

SICIS’ extensive color library gives designers an unusually broad range of creative flexibility when developing custom aquatic environments.

“We’re a company that manufactures, I think we’re at 900 distinct colors,” said Velez. “That’s one of the things that attracts people, that we have so much depth and breadth in what we produce.”

Luxury Hospitality Continues Driving Innovation

Many of SICIS’ most ambitious aquatic projects are emerging within the hospitality sector, where resorts and luxury developments are increasingly searching for unique ways to create memorable guest experiences.

During the interview, Velez highlighted several standout projects, including massive installations completed at Moon Palace properties in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

“We did Moon Palace in Cancun and also in Punta Cana — two huge pool projects, and some of the largest of their kind,” said Velez.

Projects like Moon Palace demonstrate how luxury resorts are moving toward immersive aquatic environments where mosaics, reflective surfaces, lighting, textures, and architectural finishes all work together to create a unified visual identity throughout the property.

That same philosophy is becoming increasingly influential in high-end residential design as homeowners continue looking for resort-inspired outdoor living spaces that feel more personalized and experiential.

Reflective Glass Pools Create Dramatic Visual Effects

Another project Velez highlighted was SICIS’ reflective glass pool installation at Villa Capponcina in Cap-d’Ail, France, a historic property associated with Winston Churchill’s summers along the French Riviera.

“We did our first reflective glass tile in a pool,” said Velez. “Using large format 12-by-24-inch reflective glass tiles. That’s a very unique application, not common, very difficult to do submerged.”

Reflective submerged surfaces introduce significant engineering and installation challenges involving adhesion, movement, durability, refraction, and light interaction underwater. Yet those are precisely the kinds of custom luxury applications increasingly attracting designers and affluent homeowners seeking something beyond traditional finishes.

Rather than simply selecting a standard pool tile color, luxury clients are increasingly pursuing pools that behave more like artistic architectural features capable of dramatically changing appearance throughout the day as lighting conditions shift.

That emphasis on visual atmosphere is also influencing broader color trends throughout the industry.

White on White – Central Park Tower Spa & Wellness Center

SICIS is also proving that highly artistic aquatic design can coexist with strict commercial regulations. Velez pointed to the amenity pool at Central Park Tower Spa & Wellness Center in New York City as an example.

The project required SICIS to work within extremely restrictive commercial pool color limitations imposed by New York City health regulations while still creating a sophisticated custom design.

“Creating custom designs using only shades of white makes it difficult to generate contrast,” said Velez. “That project beautifully pushed the limits of what designers can achieve today.”

Projects like Central Park Tower illustrate the increasingly complex intersection between engineering, regulation, artistic design, and luxury aesthetics within modern aquatic architecture.

As luxury pools continue evolving into immersive outdoor living environments, companies like SICIS are helping expand what designers believe is possible. What was once considered simple pool tile is now becoming illuminated architecture, decorative art, reflective sculpture, and integrated experiential design.

For an industry constantly searching for the next luxury differentiator, SICIS appears intent on ensuring the future of pool design looks very different from its past.

Scalinatella Hotel Showcases Vetrite’s Potential

Finally, one of the clearest examples of SICIS’s evolving approach to aquatic design can be seen at the iconic Scalinatella Hotel in Capri, Italy, where the company unveiled what it describes as the world’s first contract swimming pool clad entirely in Vetrite Gem Glass.

The project transformed the hotel’s pool into a dramatic architectural centerpiece, utilizing large-format decorative glass slabs featuring SICIS’s “Galaxy” and “Clouds” Vetrite patterns. Rather than functioning as a traditional pool finish, the material creates an immersive reflective surface that shifts throughout the day as sunlight interacts with the water and glass beneath it.

According to SICIS, Vetrite was engineered to resist moisture, UV exposure, scratches, impacts, and chemical exposure, allowing the material to function in demanding aquatic environments while maintaining its decorative qualities.

The Scalinatella installation demonstrates how luxury hospitality projects are increasingly embracing pools as experiential design elements rather than standalone amenities.

SICIS Continues to Redefine the Luxury Pool Experience in 2026

What SICIS appears to understand better than most is that luxury buyers no longer look at pools as isolated backyard features. The modern luxury pool has become part of a larger sensory environment where lighting, reflection, texture, architecture, and material selection all contribute to the overall experience of the space.

That shift is creating opportunities for manufacturers willing to move beyond conventional surface materials and introduce something more artistic, immersive, and architectural. Whether that ultimately becomes illuminated pool floors, reflective glass installations, or large-format decorative surfaces integrated throughout outdoor living spaces, SICIS is clearly betting that the next generation of luxury pool design will place a much greater emphasis on visual experience and customization than ever before.

Photo Credits: SICIS North America