Berlin’s grit is a hit with artists and opened up the capital to entrepreneurship and excitement but Munich, the Bavarian Hauptstadt 600km to the south, is creeping up in people’s estimations too. One idea that is helping the age-old city of red roofs, church spires and cobbled lanes stay current is Zwischennutzung: the interim use of space in older buildings as they’re being developed and revamped. Over the past few years a department store, a one-time women’s prison and even part of the world’s largest science museum, the Deutsches Museum, have been transformed into temporary clubs, restaurants and performance spaces. But none of these projects has been as ambitious as The Lovelace: a hotel and event space in the Altstadt-Lehel.

While most pop-up projects have an unfinished, industrial feel The Lovelace, which will open in early autumn, is an architecturally imperious affair. The Royal Bavarian State Bank built the four-storey spot in 1894; in 2011 a developer bought the listed property with plans to convert it into apartments, offices and a luxury hotel. When that project ran into a legal wrangle with the management of Bayerischer Hof, another first-class hotel next door, The Lovelace’s current tenants saw an opportunity. “When we heard about the legal limbo we knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Gregor Wöltje, an architect and former advertising executive who is one of Lovelace’s two managing directors alongside Michi Kern.

Kern has run clubs, restaurants, yoga studios and a bookshop-cum-concert venue to such acclaim that the Süddeutsche Zeitung crowned him “king of Munich’s nightlife”. With the support of four partners, the duo invested more than €1m into transforming the former bank into the city’s most eclectic venue. “We want to open this up to everyone,” says Wöltje, pointing to a sign in the reception area that reads, “Members and non members only.”

At the heart of The Lovelace is a small hotel. The former boardrooms, with oak flooring and high ceilings, have been turned into 30 guest rooms. All are furnished with Vitra chairs designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, natural-fibre mattresses by Greek manufacturer Coco-Mat, Bolia sofas and commissioned lamps by Swede Andreas Martin-Löf. Every room is topped off with a wall-covering by local artist Florian Süssmayr. “What are really great though are the soundproof walls,” says Wöltje, struggling with a hefty door to one of the rooms. “The bank’s executives wanted absolute calm so we can have a concert outside and the rooms remain perfectly quiet – I know of no hotel in the world with that.”

Locals are raving about the results almost as much as visitors. Non-hotel guests can enjoy the café, a rooftop bar, shops, a “head spa” and a hairdresser run by Dirk Schlobach of monocle favourite Barber House. But Wöltje and Kern also organise film screenings, concerts, readings, conferences, pop-up dinners and even the occasional boxing bout. “We want to try as much as we can until our initial lease ends in January 2019,” says Wöltje. “We hope that we can run the place for a bit longer too.” Here’s hoping The Lovelace has time to weave itself into the fabric of the city.