Pairing a booming hi-tech industry with an ornate Imperial legacy, Munich oozes the allure of a bustling and cultured capital city, pulling people from near and far to its doorstep. The pace of life may have slowed down due to the global pandemic, plenty of signs already indicate the Bavarians’ penchant for the good life is quickly reviving, and the simultaneously, the local retail and hospitality scene is readying itself to once again swing the doors wide open. London-based apartment hotel concept Locke timely chimes in with Schwan Locke, its very first outpost in Germany. Occupying a newly built U-shaped structure with an inner courtyard in the city’s Theresienwiese neighbourhood, just a stone’s throw away from Munich Central Station, the property features 151 design-led studio apartments, as well as a complimentary co-working space, gym, coffee shop, retail space, and craft cocktail bar. Steering clear from a generic interior design, each Locke hotel has a distinct identity, and for these premises, the hospitality chain tapped British design practice Fettle to create a fitting design.
Interestingly, the chosen aesthetic takes cues from the Deutscher Werkbund, an influential association of artists, architects, designers, and industrialists founded in 1907, which redefined aesthetic standards by integrating traditional crafts and industrial mass production techniques, all in the belief that high-quality applied art could improve the quality of life. As such, the living spaces at Schwan Locke adhere to the Deutscher Werkbund‘s concept of layering, featuring a mixture of three deep hues, while a palette of chrome, steel and veneered wood signals a clear industrial element. Adding up to the homey vibe is a curated series of artworks by local artists, including designer and illustrator Veronika Grenzebach, graffiti artist Armin Kiss-Istok, and illustrator Tomomi Maezawa. Locke has relaunched its original expansion scheme, opening not only additional design-led properties across the U.K. and Ireland, but also a second hotel in Munich coming July.
Schwan Locke
Landwehrstrasse 75 (Theresienwiese)
80336 Munich
Telephone: +49 89 839316010
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.
