Ed Ng and Terence Ngan complete stylish Asian restaurant in historic London landmark
– Ed Ng, AB Concept
Ed Ng and Terence Ngan, the long-time collaborators at the helm of the international design studio AB Concept, have unveiled their first project in London: a luxurious Asian restaurant called Mei Ume.
Located within the Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square – formerly the headquarters of the Port of London Authority – the design fuses Eastern and Western heritage.
Upon entering Mei Ume – which takes its name from the Chinese and Japanese words for ‘plum blossom’ – guests are met with a large suspended screen created using an enamel paint technique on glass.
The restaurant's focal point is a red lacquer frame holding an ornate three-layer gilded triptych. Each panel depicts a story and has been created through a multi-layer painting technique with glass overlays, allowing diners to see the work from a different perspective depending on the viewing angle.
All of the original columns from the building, constructed in 1922, remain intact and metal motifs have been erected on top of each to suspend three halo structures.
The bar is covered with a pavilion-like structure and illuminated with custom lanterns framed in black metal with patterned glass.
“The first thing we did after being commissioned was sit down with the heritage building expert and discover what we could and couldn’t be doing in this amazing space,” Ng told CLADglobal. “The next step was to find the right Asian story to bring into this very Western building.
“This can be a challenging process, particularly in a very old city where you come across literally hundreds and thousands of storylines. Luckily, we had the history of this building to inspire us. It’s also a stone's throw away from Tower Bridge, so we immediately began thinking of stories of Anglo-Chinese trading: the merchants and their silk, ceramics and tea, the way trading allowed them to influence each other's cultures. That became a very strong narrative for us.”
AB Concept spent three years working on the project, and Ng said that, due to various factors, architects and designers are seeing longer and longer intervals between the design and completion of hospitality projects.
“We always need to design for the future because people are always changing the way they live, work and relax – but if it takes years for a project to materialise, and then the finished space must be relevant for years after that, it becomes very hard," said Ng. "It means these days hospitality designers all have to be fortune tellers.”
Ng and Ngan’s forthcoming projects include the W Algrave hotel in Portugal, the Paper Moon Giardino seafood restaurant in Milan and renovation of the F&B spaces at the Beijing Hotel: a monumental 100-year-old building next to the Forbidden City.
Ed Ng Terence Ngan AB Concept Four Seasons Ten Trinity Square Port Authority HQ Mei Ume architecture designFour Seasons’ latest London spa inspired by the Romans
AB Concept tells its story of design with new book
New spa opens at Mandarin Oriental hotel
Ten Trinity Square to become landmark luxury hotel
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Aman sister brand Janu launching in Tokyo in 2024 with design by Denniston's Jean-Michel Gathy
How Portugal’s biggest brewer enlisted the help of one of the country’s best known architects to turn two historic nature parks into thermal spa and nature destinations