History

Established in 1987 by Robert W. Nagel, ADCI began as a five-person, hometown architectural firm with an office in Lake Delton, Wisconsin. Our roots are in the educational, municipal, housing, hospitality, retail and financial markets. Those clients fueled our growth to where we opened a second location in Oregon, Wisconsin, in 1992. Nearly 30 years later, communities and small business owners remain a vital part of our business.

Clients come to us for a diverse assortment of projects…from libraries and community centers to fire and EMS stations; convenience stores to fine dining restaurants and full-service hotels. We're also known across the country for permanent and resort housing design, as well as independent senior living apartments, including continuum of care facilities.

ADCI's entry into waterpark design has humble beginnings. Some of our earliest projects were for “Mom and Pop” hotels/motels with indoor pools. In 1994, the ADCI team was commissioned to design a new indoor waterpark resort for Wilderness. The rest, as it's said, is history. We have since designed 90 percent of the resorts in Wisconsin Dells and surrounding areas and are recognized as having designed more indoor waterpark resorts than any other firm in the world.

Despite growth and diversity of clients, one thing hasn't changed: our commitment to providing “hometown service and care.” Many of our clients have made the comment, “You're not too big, and you're not too small,” and we couldn't agree more. Our team isn't so big that we lose the personal relationship and intimate knowledge of our clients' projects. At the same time, we have sufficient resources to lead projects from coast to coast, some in excess of $200 Million in total budget.

Use the timeline slider below to explore significant events and milestones in our company's nearly 30 years of serving businesses and communities.

Timeline