JAMAICA. Airport retail planning and design specialist The Design Solution (TDS) has completed the redesign of the historic Tuff Gong International Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, as client Bob Marley Group of Companies advances plans to develop the site into a major tourism attraction.
The project builds on TDS’s longstanding relationship with the Marley family and its extensive work at Montego Bay Sangster International Airport, including the Bob Marley One Love restaurant concept, which won a FAB Award at The Moodie Davitt Report’s 2024 Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) + Hospitality Conference & Awards (read more about that project here).
Tuff Gong Studios has a prominent place in Jamaica’s musical history. Following reggae legend Bob Marley’s death in 1981, his wife Rita Marley acquired the studio, fulfilling his ambition to own the facility where he had once been refused entry.
Rita and daughter Cedella subsequently became pioneering female owners and operators of the recording studio.
TDS’s Tuff Gong renovation marks the first phase of a wider leisure development planned across the 7,000sq m site.
Future plans include a comprehensive visitor experience celebrating Marley’s life and music, alongside a retail store targeting Jamaica’s tourism market.
The first phase involved the redesign of 460sq m of internal studio space, including a new green room and artists’ lounge, upgraded acoustics and lighting, and improved visitor facilities.
This project also strengthens the studio’s tourism offering through guided tours and links to other Kingston attractions, notably the nearby Bob Marley Museum.
The complex, originally built by Federal Records in 1961, remains an operational recording studio and pressing plant.
The redesign has sought to preserve its musical heritage while upgrading facilities for artists and visitors.
Preserving a Jamaican musical landmark
The Design Solution Project Designer John Clarke highlighted the importance of reflecting Jamaica’s cultural identity in the project, drawing on the company’s more than ten years of experience on the island.
“Throughout TDS’s long-running history on the island, reaching across over ten years on a range of developments, we have always incorporated an authentic expression of Jamaica’s heritage, culture and spirit, and Bob Marley is a towering presence in that island story.”
He said TDS’s longstanding relationships with MBJ Airports, Sangster International Airport, Margaritaville Caribbean Group and the Marley family business had helped inform its approach to the studio’s redesign.
“The partnerships we have shared across those airport projects gave us invaluable experience into how to express the Tuff Gong studio story authentically through design.”
Looking ahead, Clarke noted that TDS’s 42 years of travel retail experience would play a role in the next phase of development, which is set to include a retail store targeting Jamaica’s tourist market.
Preserving the character of the original recording studio was also a central consideration, with the design team opting for minimal intervention in its most historically significant space.
“For myself, the jewel in the crown is the main recording studio, virtually unchanged since its 1961 launch, and its atmosphere and sense of history are incredible.”
Clarke explained that the Marley Group and design team had agreed early in the project to leave the main studio largely untouched, limiting changes to a gentle refurbishment of materials and an updated lighting scheme.
“We’re excited to see the next stage of progress on a historic site that is set to become a key attraction for the island’s tourism market,” he added.
Bob Marley Group of Companies CEO Cedella Marley, daughter of Bob Marley, said: “Tuff Gong has always been more than a studio – it’s a symbol of Jamaica’s voice and resilience.
“With this redesign, we’re preserving the legacy my father dreamed of and the foundation my mother laid, while building a modern space where new stories, new sounds and new dreams can come to life.”
Beyond the Bob Marley One Love restaurant, TDS’s work at Sangster International Airport includes a major redesign of the main terminal, transforming its two-level layout into a cohesive, locally themed duty-free retail environment.
TDS also designed the Marley Natural Dispensary at the Bob Marley Museum and noted it is currently undertaking initial planning and design work for the next major development phase at Sangster International Airport. ✈
