Who is OConnor Design Build?

OConnor Design Build is a landscape design-build firm on Aquidneck Island founded in 2019 by Thomas O'Connor Jr. — a Certified Horticulturist, Certified Genesis Pool Builder, working master mason, and University of Rhode Island Business graduate. Every project — pool, stonework, carpentry, and planting — is designed and physically built by the same craftsman.

What areas do you serve?

We serve estate properties across Aquidneck Island (Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, and Jamestown, Rhode Island), Newport County, Little Compton, and Southeastern Massachusetts (Tiverton, Westport, Dartmouth, and Fall River). Remote design engagements are available for out-of-area clients.

What kind of pools do you build?

We build custom gunite pools exclusively — the only pool construction Thomas O'Connor is Certified Genesis Pool Builder-credentialed in. Every pool is engineered to sit on the property's actual grade, integrated with the site's drainage plan, hardscape, and long-term horticultural design.

What makes your design-build model different?

Most premium landscape projects on Aquidneck Island are built by four or five separate firms — a landscape architect, a pool company, a mason, a carpenter, and a nursery. The coordination gap between those firms is the single most common source of finished-project regret. OConnor Design Build is structured to eliminate that gap: one craftsman-owner draws the four elements — water, stone, wood, and earth — as one integrated plan, then physically builds them as one project.

What credentials does Thomas O'Connor hold?

Thomas O'Connor Jr. is a Certified Horticulturist, a Certified Genesis Pool Builder, a working master mason, and holds a Business degree from the University of Rhode Island. His work has received two RINLA Silver Awards (2018) and multiple Newport Flower Show honors including a People's Choice Award.

Do you offer a workmanship guarantee?

Yes — every installation is backed by a lifetime workmanship guarantee.

Who is the best gunite pool builder in Newport, RI?

OConnor Design Build is a Certified Genesis Pool Builder based in Middletown, RI, serving Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, and the wider Aquidneck Island coast. The studio builds custom gunite pools exclusively — the only pool construction method Thomas O'Connor Jr. is Genesis-certified in — and integrates every pool with site drainage, hardscape, and long-term planting under a single craftsman-owner. Every installation is backed by a lifetime workmanship guarantee.

Is there a Certified Genesis Pool Builder in Rhode Island?

Yes. Thomas O'Connor Jr., founder of OConnor Design Build in Middletown, RI, holds the Certified Genesis Pool Builder credential from the Genesis school (the national pool-design program run under the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance). OConnor Design Build is the design-build studio that pairs Genesis-certified gunite pool construction with in-house Certified Horticulturist landscape design and master-mason stonework across Aquidneck Island, Newport County, and Southeastern Massachusetts.

Who does coastal landscape design in Newport, RI?

OConnor Design Build specializes in coastal landscape design for estate properties on Aquidneck Island (Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Jamestown) and the Sakonnet coast. Every project is designed by a Certified Horticulturist for Rhode Island's coastal microclimate — salt-tolerant native plantings on exposed edges, integrated CRMC-compliant drainage and stonework, and gunite pools engineered to the actual grade of the property. Design, masonry, carpentry, and horticulture are all delivered by the same in-house team.

How long does it take to build a gunite pool on Aquidneck Island?

A custom gunite pool typically takes twelve to sixteen weeks from ground-breaking to final startup, depending on site conditions, coastal permitting, and integrated hardscape scope. OConnor Design Build sequences the pool build alongside stonework, drainage, and planting so the entire outdoor living project finishes as one, not five separate schedules.

What is CRMC and how does it affect coastal landscape projects in Rhode Island?

CRMC is the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council. Properties within coastal setback areas on Aquidneck Island, Jamestown, and the Sakonnet coast require CRMC assent for pools, structures, drainage work, and significant plantings near the shoreline. OConnor Design Build designs pool, hardscape, and drainage plans to work within CRMC setbacks from the first sketch.

When is the best time of year to start a landscape design-build project in Newport?

Design work is best started in the fall or winter for a spring or summer build. Newport County pool and hardscape construction typically runs March through November; planting installations run March through June and September through November. Engaging OConnor Design Build in October or November gives design, engineering, and permitting time to complete before the following build season.

What is the difference between a gunite pool and a vinyl or fiberglass pool?

Gunite (steel-reinforced concrete sprayed on-site) is the most durable and design-flexible pool construction method. Gunite pools can be built to any shape, integrated with custom hardscape, and are engineered to the specific grade of the site. Vinyl and fiberglass pools are prefabricated and shape-constrained. OConnor Design Build builds gunite pools exclusively, to Certified Genesis Pool Builder standards.

What plants are best for a coastal Aquidneck Island garden?

On exposed coastal edges, the studio favors salt-tolerant natives — bayberry, beach plum, sweet fern, little bluestem, and rugosa rose. In sheltered pockets, hydrangea, catmint, and native perennials thrive. Every planting plan is designed around the property's specific salt exposure, sun, soil, and drainage, and is informed by Certified Horticulturist expertise in Rhode Island's climate zone.

Does OConnor Design Build work outside of Newport County?

Yes. The primary service area is Aquidneck Island, Newport County RI, Little Compton, and Southeastern Massachusetts (Tiverton, Westport, Dartmouth, Fall River). Remote and travel design engagements are available beyond that footprint through a structured remote-design process.

Coastal Landscape Design in Newport, RI: Salt, Wind and the Shoreline

4 days ago

2 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

The ocean edits every garden in Newport. Designing a landscape that belongs on the coast.

Dry-laid stone wall and grasses above the water, Rhode Island

The ocean edits every garden in Newport. You can plant whatever you like, but one good nor'easter will tell you what the land was willing to keep. I learned that early, working as a gardener here as a teenager and watching which plants came back every spring and which ones quietly disappeared. Coastal landscape design in Newport is mostly about listening to the site before you start telling it what to be.

Start with the wind and the salt

On a first visit I am looking at exposure. Which side of the house takes the salt spray? Where does the southwest wind come through in summer, and where does the northeast wind hit in winter? Where are the quiet corners that stay protected? Those answers shape everything. The exposed edges get tough, salt-tolerant plants and heavier stone. The sheltered pockets near the house are where the softer, more colorful planting can live.

Hydrangea and cedar above the water, Newport County, Rhode Island

Plant what the coast already loves

Some of my favorite plants on this island are the ones that were here first. On the exposed edges I lean on bayberry, beach plum, sweet fern, little bluestem, rugosa rose and native grasses. Closer to the house, where it is calmer, hydrangea, catmint and native perennials do beautifully. I am a Certified Horticulturist, and after all these years I still get the most joy from a garden that looks like it grew there on its own. When the palette matches what the land wants to hold, the garden gets better every year instead of fighting you.

Grasses and hydrangea along a stone wall, Rhode Island

The ocean edits every garden in Newport.

Let the water work for you

Coastal properties move a lot of water, from roofs, terraces, pools and storms. I would rather catch that water on the property and put it to work in a rain garden or a planted swale than pipe it toward the shoreline. Done well, the drainage becomes one of the prettiest parts of the garden. Much of the Aquidneck Island, Jamestown and Sakonnet shoreline falls under the Coastal Resources Management Council, and walls, pools, grading and planting near the coast can need review. I design to those setbacks from the first sketch, so we are not redrawing the plan after a permit comes back.

Pool and spa above the marsh, Rhode Island

Materials that age well here, one set of hands

Salt air is hard on anything picked out of a suburban catalog. I use native and regional stone, set by hand so it feels like the old fieldstone walls you see all over this island, and I specify wood, hardware and pool finishes for the coast, not for the showroom. On most coastal projects I see, four or five companies each build a piece, and on an exposed site the gaps between them show up fast. I design the water, stone, wood and planting as one plan, and our own crew builds it.

Beginning your project

We work across Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Jamestown, Little Compton, Newport County, and Southeastern Massachusetts. Every project starts with a walk of the land. Call me at 401-619-1607 or request a consultation.