modern interior design history
situated near a busy intersection in munich’sschwabing district, is a world war two bunker. it’s under a preservation order. the bunker was built in 1943 to protect upto 700 people during air raids. now it's one of munich's most unusual residences. “hello i'm stefan hã¶glmaier. i'll show you around. stefan hã¶glmaier is a real estate developer. he lives right at the top of the bunker, inan apartment spread over three floors. he has 400 square metres of space.
the furnishings reflect a mix of styles. playful elements provide a contrast to thecold, austere look of a bunker. stefan hã¶glmaier has deliberately left thebuilding‘s original structure exposed in some places. “the first time i came in here, i foundit quite oppressive. the walls are two metres thick, and none ofthe seven floors had an opening to the outside. that's not something you normally experience. usually, at some point, there's light, airand a view of the outside." so the first thing he did was to have onewindow cut into each wall - four windows per floor.
when stefan hã¶glmaier bought it in 2010this is what the bunker looked like without windows. fourteen construction workers spent nearlyseven months cutting the openings into the two-metre-thick concrete. "we took out two thousand tons of concretefor the openings - roughly the weight of two thousand trucks. it was quite a challenge. but that wasn't the only one.†“there was also the question of how to approachthe whole idea of turning a building from
the nazi era into a place to live. how does one leave a link to the past andleaving that history visible, while at the same time making it comfortable and cosy. the whole combination has to work somehow." a staircase leads up to the newly built topfloor. adding a penthouse also meant cutting throughthe bunker’s thick concrete roof. "so, now we’re finally on top of the bunker. there's a fantastic view from here. the dining area is here and the living room,which is absolutely flooded with light.
on one side you have a cemetry with a seaof trees that merge into the english garden.†on clear days you can see the alps." the penthouse’s rooftop terrace providesa 360-degree view of munich. and in a clear nod to his bavarian roots,stefan hã¶glmaier has even installed a traditional dining niche made of pine stefan hã¶glmaier and his company spent fivemillion euros converting the bunker into a modern, usable building. the 26-metre tower includes apartments andoffice space. it also houses a gallery named "bâ´nkâ´r".
the gallery regularly hosts exhibitions witha focus on art and architecture. the shows are open to the public free of charge- that was very important to the owner. “for decades, the bunker just stood herein this part of the city. it was very conspicuous and quite creepy andunpleasant. and so, i think it's important that the publiccan now come in and see how the building has been reclaimed for peaceful purposes." at home in a bunker. with much effort and money, this ghost ofmunich's past has been transformed into a veritable showpiece.