AB Concept: Statement, The Chinese Library and The Dispensary
Thedesigners
Ed Ng and Terence Ngan founded their Hong Kong design studio AB Concept in 1999 and have since built up an impressive international repertoire of pioneering projects with thoughtfully conceived dining rooms and bars. Their sensuous, multi-layered style coupled with meticulous detailing and wellconsidered use of space have allowed the duo to create inspirational interiors for hotels, clubs, homes and restaurants.
Theproject: Earlyimpressions
Ng and Ngan’s latest achievement, in collaboration with Aqua Group founder David Yeo, is a trio of food and beverage spaces spread over a single 10,000-squarefoot oor of the historic former police station at the Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts on Hollywood Road. The Chinese Library serves up Hong Kong’s favourite Chinese dishes, Statement boasts contemporary British cooking and The Dispensary is an opulent, colonial-style bar. From the start, the designers adopted a creative design solution that would avoid damaging the historical fabric of the building and remain in keeping with the colonial style, making it, says Ng, a “fun process” as the duo tried to “create the right balance in blending heritage with modern touches.”
Inspiration
e designers worked closely with Yeo, who brought his considerable experience in the restaurant industry to bear. “David really knows what he wants,” says Ng, “but he also allows the designers to trust their own vision and creativity.”
e rst step, according to Ng, was to develop a vision of all three spaces as an entity, inspired by the history and culture of Hong Kong as well as the role of the 170-year-old former police station. “Part of Hong Kong is very British,” he says, “but you will always see a small seasoning of Chinese in uence. And another part of Hong Kong is very Chinese but with an interesting British element that is hidden in the roots. By looking at the three outlets as the whole, it’s really a story of Hong Kong.”
Tai Kwun’s original function may have been utilitarian but there’s nothing impersonal about the three spaces’ alluring visual ode to Hong Kong’s past. Original elements have been retained in each and the wooden floors and window frames have been sensitively restored. The overall palette contains hints of the original colours that the police used in the plush, contemporary fabrics.
Antique mirrors with wooden frames in the form of traditional Chinese plaques were added by AB Concept above each window in Statement. “It is a small touch that adds a pinch of Chinese within a Western space and re ects a unique element that made Hong Kong Hong Kong,” says Ng.
“Each step of the design process is about creating harmony, so that the interiors never overpower the dining experience.” e combination of nostalgic and eclectic elements— restored tiling, marble and mirrors—ties the scene together at these three places in a contemporary way, breathing new life into the traditional charm of the historic Tai Kwun building.