AB Concept: A Cultural Journey Through Light, Form, and Space

Hong Kong-based AB Concept has become a global name in hospitality design, and this volume has been released just in time for its 20th anniversary. The book’s four chapters feature an international selection of projects that represent the firm’s influences and style: Looking West shows the early influence of founders Ed Ng and Terence Ngan’s Western design education; Looking East chronicles their turn towards more Asian-influenced design language; and Looking Here displays the development of the firm’s unique place-focused style that blends and transcends these influences. The final chapter, Looking Beyond, gives a brief overview of the firm’s product collaborations and ongoing projects.

While not chronological, focused as it is on the past decade, the format shows the arc of AB Concept’s design evolution, supported by a wellchosen selection of photographs for each project and accompanying text. Residential properties are included, but the real focus is the firm’s hospitality designs: highly expressive of place, unflinchingly modern but replete with historical references, and all showing the strong concept and meticulous attention to detail for which the firm is known.