The Acrylic Pool Authority: How Jason Jovaag and HammerHead Aquatics Became a Go-To Name

There are luxury pools. And then there are the kinds of projects where the pool itself becomes architecture.

The kind that cantilevers off the side of a high-rise. The kind where swimmers float above a dining room through a massive transparent floor panel. The kind where acrylic walls, windows, vessels, and water features aren’t simply decorative accents — they become the centerpiece of the entire design.

That’s the world Jason Jovaag operates in every day.

As President and CEO of HammerHead Aquatics, Jovaag has quietly become one of the most sought-after specialists in the global luxury aquatic design space. When elite builders, architects, and designers need complex acrylic engineering for some of the world’s most ambitious pool projects, his name comes up repeatedly.

Ask enough people in the upper echelon of the pool industry who they trust with acrylic windows and structural aquatic features, and eventually the same answer keeps surfacing:

“Jason’s the guy.”

That reputation didn’t happen overnight. Over the years, HammerHead Aquatics has built a portfolio spanning luxury residential pools, high-rise rooftop installations, zoos, aquariums, wellness facilities, and some of the most recognizable aquatic environments in the world. What separates the company from many others operating in the acrylic space is its vertically integrated approach.

“We actually do design, engineering, fabrication, and installation,” explained Jovaag. “So it’s a one-stop shop where we can actually follow the process all the way from concept through construction.”

That turnkey approach has positioned HammerHead as a critical partner on projects where there is very little margin for error. These aren’t standard backyard pools. These are engineering exercises wrapped inside luxury architecture.

Pushing the Envelope on High-Rise Pool Design

One of the biggest trends driving HammerHead’s growth has been the explosion of vertically integrated luxury living — particularly in markets like Miami, the Bahamas, Dubai, and Beverly Hills.

Developers and ultra-high-net-worth homeowners increasingly want private aquatic experiences incorporated directly into elevated living spaces. That means plunge pools hanging off balconies. Cantilevered rooftop pools. Acrylic edge details suspended dozens of stories above the ground.

Jovaag was one of the early specialists helping bring those ideas into reality. Today, those projects are becoming increasingly extreme.

“We like to push the envelope as far as what we can design and build,” Jovaag explained. “And we’re surely still doing that to market today.”

That mentality has made HammerHead a frequent collaborator with some of the most recognizable names in luxury pool and architectural design.

Jovaag has worked alongside elite builders and designers including Ryan Hughes, Paolo Benedetti, Danny Wang, and acclaimed modern architect Paul McClean of McClean Architecture, amongst many others.

The McClean collaborations, in particular, have produced several standout residential projects in Beverly Hills and abroad.

One recently completed project incorporated a massive two-story acrylic water wall that cascades down beside floating stairs into a lower sanctuary area featuring landscaping and a reflecting pond.

“You start out at grade level as you walk up to the home over some floating stairs, and then the water cascades down two stories,” Jovaag said.

The projects are dramatic, architectural, and increasingly cinematic in nature — exactly the type of luxury installations dominating the covers of design magazines and social media feeds.

Acrylic Is Becoming More Than Just a Window

While acrylic viewing panels remain a cornerstone of HammerHead’s business, Jovaag says the material is now being integrated into luxury pools in far more creative ways than many people realize.

“We’re doing some of these swim-up bars,” he explained. “What we’re actually doing now is chemically bonding a bar top on the very top of the window.”

The result creates an interactive social experience where guests inside the pool can engage directly with people seated outside the water.

HammerHead is also seeing increased demand for acrylic fire features, acrylic spheres incorporated into landscape design, and large-format acrylic water walls that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional glass.

“Glass does have its limitations when it comes to manufacturing size,” said Jovaag. “But the possibilities with acrylic are endless with the chemical bonding technology to be able to get to some of these larger format sheets.”

Another trend gaining traction in the ultra-luxury market is acrylic floor panels.

These installations allow homeowners to look upward through the bottom of a pool into living spaces below — transforming the swimming pool itself into a functional skylight.

HammerHead currently has one especially ambitious project underway involving what Jovaag described as one of the largest residential floor windows attempted to date.

“That window is massive,” he said. “It’ll be one of the largest floor windows done for a residential application at about 32,000 pounds.”

The floor window will reportedly span over an entire dining area beneath the pool.

The Deep Dive Dubai Project

Among Jovaag’s many career milestones, one project stands above the rest. Deep Dive Dubai.

Widely recognized as the deepest swimming pool in the world, the facility reaches roughly 60 meters deep and has become an internationally recognized attraction for divers and aquatic enthusiasts.

For Jovaag, the project represented one of the most technically demanding installations of his career.

“Working over in Dubai, working in the conditions that we were at, and then also just hovering scaffolding platform over a 150- or 180-foot deep hole in the ground is a little nerve-wracking by itself,” he recalled.

HammerHead worked alongside acrylic manufacturer Reynolds Polymer on the installation, handling the placement of massive acrylic viewing panels throughout the facility.

The project helped cement HammerHead’s reputation internationally and showcased the company’s ability to execute at the highest level under incredibly difficult conditions.

Educating the Industry

Despite the prestige attached to many of HammerHead’s projects, Jovaag remains heavily involved in industry education.

Because acrylic installations remain relatively specialized within the pool industry, many builders encounter a steep learning curve during their first project.

That’s where HammerHead often steps in long before installation begins.

“We want to give them the tools to make them successful,” Jovaag explained. “Giving them dos and don’ts of what not to do, what to expect from us, what we expect from them.”

That consulting mindset has made HammerHead a valuable collaborator for designers and contractors attempting increasingly sophisticated builds.

Jovaag has also become a familiar face through educational seminars and industry presentations with Watershape University, where he regularly shares knowledge on acrylic engineering, installation practices, and design limitations.

His approachable teaching style has earned him a loyal following among pool professionals eager to better understand the possibilities of acrylic integration.

Expanding Into Wellness and Hydrotherapy

Another major growth segment for HammerHead Aquatics has been wellness and hydrotherapy design. As luxury wellness spaces continue becoming more prominent in both residential and commercial development, acrylic is finding new applications beyond pure aesthetics.

“We’re seeing a big wave right now in the wellness centers,” Jovaag said.

One emerging concept involves combining hot therapy spas and cold plunges into a single body of water separated by acrylic partitions.

HammerHead is also exploring hydrotherapy applications tied to mobility rehabilitation and medical therapy, where transparent acrylic allows practitioners to study joint movement underwater in real time.

That crossover between luxury design and functional aquatic therapy reflects how broad the company’s reach has become.

While many know HammerHead primarily for high-end pools, Jovaag points out that zoo and aquarium work remains a major pillar of the business as well.

“We’re very busy with all facets of what we have going on,” he said. “The zoo and aquarium industry for us will always be one of the larger parts of our business model.”

Building the Future In-House

HammerHead Aquatics is now entering another major chapter. The company recently opened a new Las Vegas facility that will allow it to bring approximately 90 percent of manufacturing and fabrication operations in-house.

For Jovaag, the move is about greater control, better scheduling, and ensuring consistency from start to finish.

“The term I use — care, custody, and control,” he said. “We own every process from A to Z.”

That expanded capability positions HammerHead to continue growing alongside a luxury pool segment that seems increasingly willing to chase bigger ideas and more ambitious aquatic experiences.

And if current trends are any indication, those ideas are only getting bolder. Because in today’s luxury market, a pool is no longer just a vessel of water. For firms like HammerHead Aquatics, it has become structural art.

Ready to take a deeper dive?

Listen to our recent conversation with Jason Jovaag on the Pool Magazine Podcast.