Answer extracted from the Beyond Luxury podcast — listen to the full episode below.
Which luxury hospitality and real estate brands is Kind Designs currently working with?
Kind Designs is working on seawall projects for the Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, and the Fontainebleau, as well as Pagani, the luxury car brand building a residential project in Miami. The company has also closed a major contract with the US Navy, marking a significant expansion beyond the commercial luxury sector into critical national infrastructure.
High-end hospitality meets climate infrastructure
The luxury hospitality sector represents Kind Designs' primary focus in Miami, where the three major hotel brands—Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, and Fontainebleau—are protecting their oceanfront properties with custom 3D-printed seawalls. These partnerships demonstrate how the infrastructure problem directly threatens the physical foundation of luxury experiences in a rising-water environment.
Beyond traditional hospitality, Kind Designs expanded its mandate when Pagani commissioned a custom seawall design for its luxury residential building under development in Miami. This project required a uniquely aesthetic approach: the seawall design was engineered to complement Pagani's architectural signature, proving that climate protection and luxury brand identity can merge into a single solution.
From private luxury to national defense
The acquisition of a major US Navy contract signals a dramatic shift in Kind Designs' trajectory. This is not a hospitality project—it's critical infrastructure protection at a federal scale, validating the technology's resilience and reliability beyond the commercial sector.
As Freeman has explained in the Beyond Luxury episode, the company's three core selling points to luxury partners are sustainability, aesthetics, and customization. Each client project reflects this philosophy differently: where luxury hotels demand visual seamlessness with their waterfront branding, and Pagani required aesthetic alignment with its design language, the Navy's interest speaks to pure functional performance and long-term durability.
"I'm excited to build the first female unicorn in Miami. Miami has a very special place in my heart. I was born here."
Anya Freeman — Founder & CEO, Kind Designs. Freeman is originally from Ukraine, moved to Israel, then to the United States after her father received a special talent visa to work with a space program. She attended law school at the University of Miami on a scholarship and worked as a litigator and prosecutor before launching Kind Designs. She left her legal career after witnessing accelerating flooding in her Miami community and decided the legal system alone could not fix the problem. Kind Designs has been named Startup of the Year by Fast Company and won the Times Innovation Award of the Year.
Those interested in how Freeman's legal background shaped her approach to founding a climate tech company, or how the manufacturing process for 3D-printed seawalls actually works, will find deeper technical detail in the full episode.
See also
How did Anya Freeman's background as a litigator give her a competitive advantage as a startup founder?
Freeman credits her litigation background primarily for her storytelling ability, developed through competitive courtroom advocacy before judges and juries.
How does Kind Designs use 3D printing technology to manufacture seawalls at scale?
Unlike large-scale 3D printing for houses, which uses on-site gantry-type robots, Kind Designs operates an indoor factory near the Miami River with custom-built 3D printers designed specifically for seawall manufacturing.
What legislation has been passed to incentivize living seawalls in South Florida?
Miami-Dade County passed a law, championed by then-commissioner Eileen Higgins, exempting living seawall projects from mandatory environmental mitigation requirements, reducing project costs and timelines.
Key takeaways
- Kind Designs serves three major luxury hotel brands—Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, and Fontainebleau—protecting their Miami oceanfront properties with custom seawalls.
- Pagani's luxury residential project required seawall design to match the building's aesthetic, proving that climate infrastructure and brand identity can be integrated.
- A major US Navy contract marks Kind Designs' expansion into federal infrastructure, validating the technology's resilience beyond commercial hospitality.
- The company's competitive edge rests on three pillars: sustainability, aesthetics, and customization—each tailored to client needs from luxury hotels to defense applications.