Architect: BUERO WAGNER: Prof. Fabian A. Wagner, Louise Daussy, David Lachermeir
Campana del Rey
In Munich, a 16th-century vaulted cellar was transformed into a rum bar, providing patrons with a space to connect with the historic architecture and one another.
Intimate and enigmatic, Campana del Rey is a rum bar located in the vaulted cellar of a 16th-century building in Munich’s historic centre. As part of a series of conversion projects for the building, architecture studio Buero Wagner led the bold repurposing of the basement. The studio uncovered the original ceiling structure, which was hidden beneath layers of plaster, allowing the textures and patterns of brickwork to permeate the space. The existing floor was excavated, increasing the floor-to-ceiling height. In this process, new concrete foundations were constructed, enveloping the columns and lining the walls, which double as tables, seating and the bar counter. In extending the original basement, the designers create a reference line that marks what is new and what is old. Only a few spatial interventions cross this division, such as lightweight furnishings suspended from the ceiling and red-hued stone cladding covering the original brick in high-traffic areas.
The bar counter acts as a central element in the space. Surrounded by aluminium stools on three of its four sides, the table encourages conversation and generates an intimate feel for visitors and bar staff alike. In the adjacent room, upholstered leather offers a variety of seating arrangements along the concrete ledges. In some areas, these encourage casual encounters – in others, they provide more privacy. With the need for traditional tables eliminated by the abundance of flat surfaces, the designer crafts an environment that animates customer connection.
Adaptive reuse is a process that demands careful consideration of a structure’s historic building fabric while leveraging specific interventions capable of reprogramming its interior. In Campana del Rey, one of the most evident examples of this tension is the bar’s need for greater floor-to-ceiling height, which the old cellar couldn’t accommodate. By excavating the floor and effectively lowering it, Buero Wagner allows a space that might otherwise have remained accessible to few, to become a social hub for the many in Bavaria’s capital. While most of the design moves employed are subtractive, like the peeling back old layers of plaster and the carving away of the existing floor, the product is a building with added historical value and increased footfall. In doing this, the designer showcases how the reuse of structures can generate uniquely intimate experiences within historic buildings.
