Gamsei - a cocktail bar rethought!

Photography:  Jann Averwerser & Simon u. Sebastian Schels

Info & Images: Courtesy Buero Wagner Architects

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The connection to regional products as well as local culture clearly sets Gamsei apart from competitors. The architects from Buero Wagner have translated this unique concept into an architectural language that boasts close collaboration with the hand-made...

For owner Matthew Bax, his fourth bar, the Gamsei in Munich, is an antidote to the globalization of cocktail bars; why drink the very same cocktail in every bar you go to in the world? Why not experience the excitement of the new when sipping a cocktail? That is why all cocktail ingredients are directly obtained from nature or from local producers and this connection to regional products as well as local culture clearly sets Gamsei apart from competitors.

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Exploring a new interior vocabulary, Ar. Fabian A. Wagner of Buero Wagner with Andreas Kreft, establishes a clear continuation of this philosophy – looking for new configurations whilst paying a tribute to the local Bavarian culture and craftsmanship, majorly using local oak and ceramics.

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The ambience of a Bavarian beer hall is applied to the 40 sq. m. interior through amphitheater-style benches against opposing walls, thus eliminating the common separation of bartender and guest. Here interaction is key and everybody has a first row seat. From either tribune guests enjoy a view onto the two centrally placed bars and follow how Bax and his team mix, shake and stir up the cocktails.

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Also the bars have been stripped of all boundaries: workspace and bar are one. Dried flowers, herbs and leaves are stored and displayed in a wooden walk-in cupboard that stretches the full length of the back wall; besides ingredients, also the coffee machine and even the doors to the bathrooms and laboratory are seamlessly integrated and can be flexibly displayed or disguised behind lattices.

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Tribunes, bars and cupboards are executed in solid oak with a natural oil finish. White ceramic bottles, containing self-made liqueurs, syrups and essences, are suspended from a black steel mesh attached to the ceiling. In-between light bulbs make for a reduced lighting scheme by night.  

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Just like Bax’s cocktail ingredients, the architects have procured all materials such as wood and ceramics (custom-made by Gefäß&Objekt, Bachern) locally, and worked in close collaboration with local carpenters and manufacturers to produce custom-made solutions.

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Gamsei is a wholly integrated concept that turns the event of drinking a cocktail into a novel experience. The refreshing take on the cocktail bar extends further: bartenders, dressed in uniform leather aprons, serve their guests an amuse-gueule, such as “Biersand”, after taking their coats upon entering the tribunes on either side. 

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Besides its other wins, the Gamsei bar is the winner of the Best Bar Interiors at the World Interiors News Annual Awards 2014!!