Pitch Black Perfection

Property developer Stefan F Hoglmaier and musician Oscar Loya take monochrome mania to a sublime level in their 4,800 sq ft Nazi era bunker.

- Wolfgang Kehl

There is no doubt there are far simpler construction projects than this hermetic shelter with its 2 mtr thick reinforced concrete walls dating back to the Nazi era. Until 2009, the seven storey block with its striking Renaissance style hewn stone corners was officially a bunker. It was then placed under monument protection and offered for sale. Most people would be put off by such a challenging structure and its dubious past – not the creative property developer Stefan F Hoglmaier though, who moved into the top three floors with partner Oscar Loya after four years of planning and construction. “For me, the most important thing is that the building has a strong identity. It was extremely difficult approaching it with a sense of seriousness, addressing this in the architecture and then freeing it of its past by introducing our own personal style,” says Stefan. Given that the Americans ended the nightmare of the Third Reich 70 years ago, it was only logical that they wanted to break with the manner of this formidable bunker and introduce a modern vocabulary of form.