Garis Miring Studio Repurposes a Shophouse in Legian as a Boutique Hostel

When talking about accommodation in a holiday destination like Bali, the spotlights are typically on the luxury, the eco-friendliness, or the cultural elements. On the other end however, more hostels and similar accommodation catering adventurers and budget travellers are getting better than just a place to sleep. Moreover, in the era of experiential travel, budget and space limitations are no longer an excuse for hospitality businesses not to provide immersive and local vibes that many travellers seek today.

©Garis Miring Studio

©Garis Miring Studio / Daniel Jiang

Located on the busy Legian Street, M Boutique Hostel Legian provides capsule accommodations for many budget travellers with easy access to both Kuta Beach and Seminyak Area. From the outside, the hostel—fitted in a renovated single shophouse—is quite enclosed with recycled timber fins that covers most of its upper floors. On the street level, before entering the lobby, travellers are welcomed with a small outdoor seating area that is furnished with recycled timber floors and Corten steel walls.

©Garis Miring Studio / Daniel Jiang

As Legian Street is well-known for its liveliness, the ground floor interior reflects the hostel’s surrounding vibes with the presence of murals on its walls. Thus, rather than entering a new, disconnected interior of an accommodation that many other contemporary hostels display, the reception area seemingly presents itself as an extension of the vivid neighbourhood. The vibrance of the murals also helps to enliven the common area on the ground floor that receives almost no natural lighting. On some parts of the building’s areas, the murals extend its function as graphical wayfinding.

©Garis Miring Studio / Daniel Jiang

In contrast with the hostel’s ground floor common area, the rooftop area is made to be as open as possible. Being one of the tallest building in the vicinity, the lounge on the rooftop allows guests to enjoy a glimpse of the celebrated Kuta’s sunset. The extensive use of recycled timbers, ceiling wooden shutters that generates dynamic shadows during the day, and numerous greeneries provide enough natural feel despite the hostel’s proximity from the beach. Most of the time, the rooftop also becomes a serene space to escape from the busy surrounding below.

©Garis Miring Studio / Daniel Jiang

Within the extremely limited site area, it is worth to note that Garis Miring Studio is able to provide both fun and natural experience of Legian while integrating private floors for guests to comfortably rest. The fact that the hostel is a result of a renovation with heavy reliance on recycled material confirms how a budget-constrained project could still provide favourable experience for its intended market.