Why evolutionary change became a constant for designer and architect duo Ed Ng and Terence Ngan of AB Concept
- Technology has helped the Hong Kong company, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary, to downsize to new head office, but also expand its horizons
- Practice plans to open new studio in Milan, a city where the duo has a home and makes regular visits for work
The designer and architect duo of Ed Ng and Terence Ngan has just moved into a new office in Victoria Dockside, a waterfront development in Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong.
It’s markedly different from the company’s previous space in Lai Chi Kok, and the change could not have come at a more fitting time.
This year, the luxury design firm AB Concept, which was co-founded by the duo, celebrates its 20th anniversary: two decades of designing homes, hotels such as Rosewood Sanya and W Xi’an in mainland China, restaurants for Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts at the former Central Police Station in Central and Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, and stores for glassmaker Lalique.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s been 20 years,” says Ng, who is the face of the studio, while Ngan prefers to keep a low profile. “Running this studio for 20 years has taught me that there’s no one best way of doing things, because it’s always evolving.
“It’s like art. Maybe 20 years ago you fall in love with a painting you brought home. Now, you think: ‘Why did I buy that painting?’ It’s not that the artwork has changed; it’s your experience that has changed, and your intellect.
