A Japanese cabin in the woods became a Covid escape for two Hongkongers, and was a source of inspiration for their work
- The co-founders of AB Concept, who designed Argo at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, spent 27 months in their holiday home in a Japanese forest avoiding Covid
- The duo have emerged with more projects and designs finished, and point to their surroundings there – warm woods, a slower pace of living – as the reason for it
Anyone who still doubts the benefits of working remotely should make a beeline for Argo at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong – not necessarily to pull up a chair and plug in a laptop at the enchanting harbourview bar, but to marvel at how adapting work to life, instead of the other way around, can have clear creative benefits.
That is the experience of interior designer Ed Ng, who, with architect Terence Ngan, created Argo during an extended stay in Japan. In 2020, the co-founders of AB Concept were in the hot-spring town of Karuizawa, in the Japanese Alps, enjoying their holiday home during the Lunar New Year break, when the pandemic began closing in. The best option was to stay put.
This May, about 27 months and many Covid-19 variants later, Ng was finally ready to leave the country, for Italy. By then, Argo’s interiors had morphed from concept to reality, with acres of mirrors reflecting spirits literally while lifting them metaphorically.
Two-and-a-quarter years in the woods allowed the pair to produce much more, however. Among other projects, Ngan and Ng emerged with a soon-to-be-completed second house for themselves in Karuizawa, on an adjoining plot of land, plus a collection of wallpaper inspired by the forests, which had donned new season hues in front of their eyes (see Tried + tested).
Ng debuted the new product for AB Concept at this year’s Milan Design Week.
The couple have their timber-clad house to thank for fostering productivity. Bought in 2019, just before construction was completed, the 2,100 sq ft (195 square metre), two-storey “mountain cottage” taught them plant cycles, light-and-shadow timetables and how to acclimatise.
