Following last year’s opening of Schwan Locke, an event we’ve covered in a previous post, apartment hotel chain Locke opens a second design-led property in Munich. Situated in Obersendling, originally an industrial but now increasingly gentrified part of town, the so-called WunderLocke occupies a sizeable, redeveloped office complex and features no less than 360 studios. Locke tapped London-based design practice Holloway Li to design the premises and they’ve come up with a series of stylish settings that have been created with the environment in mind, using a low-impact and adaptive re-use design approach. As such, the building’s concrete shell has been embedded in the design. Interestingly, design cues have been taken from Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944), a Moscow-born artist who was a pioneer in abstract art and made Munich his temporary home for almost two decades. So, Kandinsky’s work explores how we can develop a closer relationship to nature through abstraction, rather than through the more figurative approaches that were favoured at the time.
He believed that by connecting with the Innerer Klang or ‘inner voice’ of things, an artist could reveal the natural essence of objects and materials. The chosen aesthetic explores the tension between structure and amorphous masses of colour, revealing large swathes of the building’s raw concrete shell while carefully adding new layers. The light-filled and airy lobby is anchored by a curved timber reception desk and set in a homey yet stylish lounge area which subtly merges with a co-working area on one side, and a bar on the other. The round bar opens to the outside through a window serving the external pool area. Furnishings comprise bespoke designs with German design studio Coordination and a collaboration with London-based furniture consultancy Dodds & Shute of a range of responsibly-sourced lighting, offsetting 15 tonnes of CO2 and protecting 979 trees threatened by deforestation. The apartments at WunderLocke come in three different categories and sizes, but all are a seamless extension of the stylish public spaces and offer all the modern comfort and amenities of today’s savvy traveller.
An original 1960s terrazzo staircase was meticulously restored to its former glory and new stainless steel fixings and handrail give it a distinct contemporary touch. Adding more colour to the concrete-infused premises is dense free-flowing planting and a concise palette of natural materials, such as timber, terrazzo and raffia were used for new finishes and furniture, and also balance out the concrete mass. Accordingly, the colour scheme is anchored by earthy tones and botanical greens, but also playfully punctuated by pops of colour. And that’s not all. WunderLocke also features Mural Farmhouse, an all-day restaurant, coffee shop and bar rolled into one. Influenced by the farm-to-table movement and with circularity at the heart of its approach, the dining venue has been developed and conceived by the founders of local Michelin-starred restaurant Mural, in collaboration with top chef Rico Birndt. Later this year, a rooftop bar with sweeping city views will open its doors.
WunderLocke
Hofmannstrasse 45 (Obersendling)
81379 Munich
Telephone: +49 89 262089070
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
