Photography by Owen Raggett
Culinary Symphony by AB Concept
HOSPITALITY PROJECTS
Located in Hong Kong, Akira Back is a dining experience shaped as much by emotion and movement as by cuisine. Designed by AB Concept, the restaurant embraces the spirit of The New Romantic, favouring atmosphere, expression, and sensory richness over restraint. The result is an interior that feels immersive and theatrical, confident in its ability to evoke feeling through form.
From the outset, the space is defined by flow. Curves sweep across ceilings and walls, guiding the eye through the room in continuous, rhythmic gestures. There is nothing static about the architecture, which appears to move and soften as it unfolds. These sculptural forms are echoed in the furniture, from rounded chair backs to enveloping banquettes, creating a sense of intimacy that balances the scale of the room. The experience feels fluid and instinctive, shaped by motion rather than symmetry.
Lighting becomes the emotional anchor. A chain of glowing orbs stretches across the ceiling, forming a luminous ribbon that introduces warmth and softness overhead. Their diffused glow tempers the drama of the architecture, creating moments of closeness within a grand setting. The effect is almost celestial, reinforcing the restaurant’s theatricality while maintaining a sense of human scale. The lighting works on an emotional level, not just a visual one.
Materiality deepens the narrative. Rich marbles, reflective surfaces, and tactile finishes work together to create depth and visual rhythm throughout the interior. Colour is used emotionally rather than decoratively, with warm ambers, blush tones, deep blues, and metallic accents shifting subtly as light changes from day to night. These layered palettes give the space a sense of movement and mood, allowing it to evolve over time rather than remain fixed.
Mirrors and reflective elements further amplify this sense of dynamism. Surfaces catch and repeat light, fragmenting views and extending sightlines across the room. Architecture, furniture, and lighting blur into one another, creating a layered environment that rewards attention and exploration. Each position within the restaurant offers a slightly different perspective, reinforcing the idea of dining as an unfolding experience.
In the context of contemporary hospitality, Akira Back resists minimalism and neutrality in favour of expression and individuality. It aligns seamlessly with the ethos of The New Romantic, not through nostalgia, but through confidence in emotion. Romance here is bold and fluid, found in curves, glow, and material richness rather than quiet understatement.
Set within the energy of Hong Kong, the restaurant offers a vision of hospitality that is immersive, expressive, and deeply atmospheric. It suggests a future where interiors are allowed to feel, to move, and to seduce, creating spaces that linger in memory long after the table is cleared.
