Sweden · Gothenburg · Private garden

A garden turned into a rock-and-timber barbecue area

From bare turf to a complete place for cooking and sitting out: sculpted rock enclosures, a pergola shaped as trunks and branches, and a table on a carved base.

The starting point

An ordinary, empty garden beside a terraced house

The garden had nothing in it but lawn and a fence line. We prepared the ground and the foundations first, then built a complete outdoor area for cooking and for socialising, designed as one composition rather than as a grill with furniture around it.

The barbecue enclosures and cabinets were hand-sculpted in concrete as rocks with a natural texture. The pergola takes the form of tree trunks and branches with lighting built in, and the large table received a sculpted base that imitates wood.

The garden before work began: bare turf, a timber fence and the rear of a terraced house

Scope of work

Site and foundation preparation
Rock-style barbecue enclosures
Pergola shaped as trunks and branches
Table with a sculpted base
Integrated lighting
Painting and patina

Build

From groundwork to sculpted forms

The photographs below follow the order of work: the ground stripped and levelled, framing for the cabinets, then the rock texture modelled and left to cure before colour was applied.

Groundwork in the garden: soil stripped and levelled in front of the terraced house

A low retaining wall and a temporary tent over the new platform during construction

Timber framing and boarding for a barbecue cabinet under construction

Fresh rock texture on a barbecue enclosure, with cracks and strata modelled by hand

Result

Rock, timber and light in one place

From the garden side the rock enclosures hold the grills at working height, with a worktop between them. The table stands apart under the pergola, its edge and legs carved to read as an old tree trunk with roots running into the ground.

Small lights recessed into the underside of the pergola make the area usable after dark. Paint and patina tie the cement-grey structure to the warm brown of the carved wood forms.

Two built-in grills in a rock-textured enclosure with a continuous stone-look worktop

The rock enclosure seen from the lawn, with a pedestal grill beside a tall rock-textured pillar

A seating group and a rock-textured pillar under the timber pergola

The table under the pergola, with a carved root-like base and a stone-look top

Sculpted table with a root-shaped base and two built-in rock armchairs

Seating and table seen from the path of stepping stones

A pergola post modelled as a tree trunk, with a branch carrying the roof and a small light

Underside of the pergola: lights recessed into the carved branch structure

Table top close up, with the grill and a glass on the surface

The finished barbecue area in the garden, with the grills and rock enclosure in sunlight

Walk-around films

Three short clips filmed on site, following the carved forms from close range.

Barbecue area, Gothenburg: walking through the tree-trunk pergola

Barbecue area, Gothenburg: close-up of the sculpted rock and root forms

Barbecue area, Gothenburg: the table with its sculpted base

Garden barbecue areas and outdoor kitchensWhat we build for gardens, and how the process works.→Artificial rockworkThe technique behind the rock-textured enclosures.→Painting and patinaHow colour and ageing are applied to concrete forms.→The Pub 27, KristinehamnAnother Swedish project: brick, stone and a rock-walled cellar.→

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Artisan Aleks Company designs and builds premium themed environments across Europe: artificial rockwork, sculptures, themed architecture, facades and immersive storytelling spaces.

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