If you have stayed in one Locke, rest assured you will always find something new in another Locke – created in collaboration with interior architects Holloway Li, Wunderlocke draws on the artistic history of Munich while reimagining a former office building. Writer Melania Guarda Ceccoli steps inside for a closer look…
Bringing the Locke portfolio up to 13, with two offerings now based in Munich, is the aparthotel Wunderlocke. Sheltering 360 studio apartments with hotel services, it is located in the Obersendling district of Munich, having redesigned the office building that previously belonged to the German technology company Siemens. Designed by interior architects Holloway Li, aside from the designer apartments, WunderLocke features a large co-working area, café, meeting and event spaces, as well as a heated outdoor pool, sauna and studio. work out. In typical Locke style, WunderLocke offers a mix of spacious studios, one and two bedroom apartments, some of which include a private terrace and breathtaking panoramic views over the city and the Bavarian Alps. Each apartment is perfect to be lived in for medium and long-term stays, with an ambition to become a space for artists, creatives and tech entrepreneurs.
Image credit: Locke Hotels / Edmund Dabney
Created in collaboration with Holloway Li, the design of WunderLocke is inspired by Vasily Kandinsky’s theory of ‘Innerer Klang’ (inner voice). Kandinsky, who spent a significant period of his career in Munich, explored how we can develop a closer relationship with nature through abstraction. Holloway Li interpreted the artist’s theory by stripping the existing building to reveal its raw concrete structure, a nod to the neighbourhood’s industrial past, from which renewed branches can be cultivated.
Image credit: Locke Hotels / Edmund Dabney
This approach also allowed Holloway Li to incorporate sustainable design practices into the building’s development, celebrating the bones of the original WunderLocke structure without over-cladding and over-development. The colours used are those of the earth which are contrasted with sumptuous materials along with playful touches of colour and a vivid terrazzo, while warm woods, natural materials and botanical textures refer to nature.
Image credit: Locke Hotels / Edmund Dabney
WunderLocke is also home to an unprecedented food and drink concept in Germany in the form of ‘Mural Farmhouse’ – five food and drink destinations spread over seven floors conceived by the founders of the revered Michelin-starred local restaurant, Mural.
Image credit: Locke Hotels / Edmund Dabney
This ambitious food and drink concept includes ‘Mural Farmhouse Restaurant’, a 70 cover all-day restaurant, ‘Mural Farmhouse Fine Dining’, a fine dining Chef’s Table,’Mural Farmhouse Café’, a coffee shop, a wine and cocktail bar, and ‘Mural Farmhouse Rooftop’, a rooftop with panoramic views of the Bavarian Alps. The vision for Mural Farmhouse has been developed in collaboration with internationally recognised chef Rico Birndt and puts circularity at the heart of its approach. Influenced by the farm-to-table movement, food will be supplied by local and regional producers, and once matured, a rooftop urban farm will provide handpicked seasonal herbs and vegetables for the restaurant.
In keeping with the interiors throughout the project, the designs for Mural Farmhouse were created by Holloway Li in keeping with the wider project, with a focus on the themes of renewal and connections to nature, bridging the local area’s industrial heritage with the wilderness of the Bavarian forests and parkland to the south of the city.
Main image credit: Locke Hotels / Edmund Dabney
