Jumeirah Eco Village
Making Sustainability Tangible
Opportunity
Across the planet, ecosystems are under growing pressure. At Jumeirah, the belief is simple: wellbeing depends on the health of the natural world. Through innovation, education and responsible operations, they are shaping a future where hospitality restores, rather than exhausts, the environments we call home. Set within this vision, Jumeirah Eco Village serves as a living showcase of the brand’s most impactful sustainability initiatives: beekeeping, hydroponics, composting, turtle rehabilitation, coral restoration and more. Alongside it, the Recycling Hub, powered by UAE-born start-up Midori, reimagines how plastic can be given new life, transforming single-use waste into durable everyday products and inviting visitors to rethink possibility through circular design.
Ochre was commissioned to translate this mission into a visitor centre experience, shaping the spatial identity, curating layered content journeys and designing hands-on learning moments for guests of all ages.
Solution
We designed the two-room visitor centre as a tactile, analogue counterpoint to today’s screen-heavy world. Guided by the earthy, barefoot spirit of the Eco Village, the spaces feature natural and recycled materials, raw textures and rough-edged finishes that reflect the authenticity of the initiatives themselves. The visual language was further shaped through the content, which was brought to life with hand-drawn, chiseled elements and illustrations that echo the crafted, grounded character of the space.
The experience was shaped by one key focus: Create environments where learning is driven by physical engagement and sensory exploration, allowing visitors to discover each initiative through touch, movement and interactive detail. Across both rooms, adults and children are invited into different modes of discovery. We developed multisensory interactives, from twist-turn-and-reveal elements and tactile coral displays to haptic features that capture the gentle hum of bees. These interactions bring each sustainability initiative to life in ways that are intuitive, physical and memorable.
Result
The result is an experience that makes sustainability tangible, interactive and personal. By grounding every element in material honesty, sensory engagement and practical discovery, the Eco Village gives visitors more than information. It gives them a way to understand, feel and act on the role they can play in a more sustainable future.
Arriving in Nature
Set within the serene gardens of Madinat Jumeirah, the Eco Village feels quietly removed from the pace of the resort, surrounded by greenery, birdsong and peacocks wandering freely through the landscape. From the first moment, every detail of the journey is designed to feel grounded and intentional, with a rustic, barefoot quality that invites visitors to slow down, look closer and engage with the environment through their hands, senses and curiosity.
Room 1: Jumeirah Sustainability Showcase
The first room offers a warm and rustic introduction to the Eco Village’s core initiatives. Here, guests encounter interactive stations that reveal the stories behind beekeeping, coral restoration, turtle rehabilitation and more.
Physical displays such as coral fragments, turtle bone replicas and bee-hive inspired modules allow visitors to explore at their own pace.
A small number of screens provide supplementary video content, while the main mode of discovery stays intentionally analogue
Room 2: The Recycling Hub
Part learning lab, part workshop. This space invites visitors to learn about the history of plastic, its strengths and limitations and the wide-reaching environmental, economic and social impacts of our global reliance on it.
The room is designed to show how informed choices and practical action can shift our relationship with plastic and reinforce a clear message: waste is a resource.
Through a series of simple, hands-on stations, guests sort, shred, melt and mould plastic into new objects using the same machines Midori employs in its circular recycling process.
A Living Garden of Learning
Beyond the indoor learning spaces, the Eco Village extends into the garden, where sustainability can be explored through hands-on activities and living systems. Visitors can participate in planting, explore hydroponic growing methods, observe beehives and learn about composting, gaining a broader understanding of how each initiative connects to a more holistic way of living.
