No, we're not in a speakeasy in Chicago – and no, we haven't traveled back in time to a Berlin black bar during the Golden Twenties. Rather, we find ourselves in the heart of Munich's old town, and we're left utterly mesmerized: An unassuming concrete staircase descends to the second basement of a residential building, leading into a vaulted cellar with raw brick walls, where you discover one of the city's most extraordinary, sophisticated, and impeccably designed bars – hidden beneath the streets.

The journey to realize this vision was anything but simple. When the operator of an established ground-floor restaurant and architect Fabian Wagner joined forces, they set out to create something truly exceptional: the Campana del Rey, a singular rum bar. The building, dating to the 16th century, features a vaulted cellar – but at just 1.70 meters high, it fell far short of their ambitions. The vault had to be excavated deeper to achieve adequate ceiling height, all while the residential structure above remained structurally suspended throughout construction. Workers manually carved out what became a third basement level. The original cellar's massive supports and walls were carefully underpinned, then built up layer by layer with cast-in-place concrete. The bar's concrete furnishings were ingeniously integrated into these new foundations – the counter, table, and built-in benches became one with the structural system itself. Guests now sit literally upon the building's new foundation, a structure no longer in its original state but entirely refreshed from the first floor up. Architect Wagner deliberately avoids calling this an interior project; it's renovation work in its truest sense. What emerges is surprising: despite the austerity, clarity, and restraint on display, the modest space radiates warmth rather than cold severity. The secret lies in the refined material palette and minimalist approach – exposed concrete and raw brick form the "stage," anchored by solid-aluminium benches and bar stools dressed in black leather. The counter commands the room as its defining element, while the remaining space is intelligently subdivided into intimate and generous booths alike. A striking red marble sculpture – folded and fluid in form – functions as a screen, artfully masking a doorway in the concrete wall. Marble fragments punctuate certain wall sections as practical splash guards. Yet the coolness never becomes cold, tempered by a deliberately kitschy Madonna figure placed as a deliberate counterpoint. She inhabits and activates a niche in the brick, a warm reminder of human sentiment amid the industrial aesthetic.

www.buerowagner.eu

Photography:
Kim Fohmann
www.kimfohmann.de

(Published in CUBE Munich 01|25)