Poured concrete sets the pace in this modern city garden with concrete and aluminium: long, straight runs, narrow lines between the slabs, and slate chippings pressed into the joints. The surface reads as one continuous plane, yet the smaller insertions keep it from feeling hard or flat. Along the edges, planting and screening soften the perimeter and keep the mix of materials beyond the garden walls out of view.

Green screening along the boundary walls

The most immediate move sits at the property line. Green screening runs against the walls and turns the edge of the garden into a backdrop rather than a boundary. It hides the patchwork of surrounding materials and gives the compact plot a calmer frame. Mirrors add another layer to the composition. They catch light and extend the view, so the garden reads wider than its actual footprint. In a townhouse setting, that visual trick matters as much as any surface treatment.

From the house, the garden unfolds in clear bands: concrete, slate chippings, planting, then wood. Nothing feels accidental. The planting stays close to the wall line, where it can work hardest as a screen. That leaves the centre open for the floor and the central feature, which gives the layout a direct, legible order. The result is a city garden design that relies on reflection, repetition and restrained material shifts instead of excess greenery.

A concrete patio with linear joints and slate chippings

The floor is cast in concrete, but the joints change its expression. Wide gaps between the concrete strips are filled with slate chippings, drawing thin dark lines through the pale surface. Those lines guide the eye across the patio and break up the slab without adding clutter. It is a small intervention, yet it carries the geometry of the whole garden. The concrete patio with linear joints also gives the planting and the aluminium pieces a sharper outline.

Seen up close, the material mix is tactile rather than decorative. The concrete surface stays matte and even, while the slate chippings bring a rougher grain at the seams. That contrast repeats in the rest of the project: smooth metal against fibrous wood, open paving against dense screening. The design does not rely on ornament. It uses edges, joints and surface changes to define the garden. For a compact urban plot, that clarity keeps the space readable from every angle.

The aluminium water and fire feature as focal point

At the centre stands the aluminium water and fire feature, the strongest visual marker in the garden. Its length gives it weight, while the metal finish keeps it visually light against the concrete around it. Water and fire are integrated into the same aluminium element, so the feature reads as a single object rather than a collection of separate parts. It anchors the patio and gives the garden one clear point of focus without crowding the layout.

What makes the piece work is the way it sits among the other materials. The concrete base holds it steady, the planting keeps the edges from feeling exposed, and the slate chippings pick up the dark tone of the metal. The aluminium water and fire feature does not compete with the garden; it sets the rhythm for it. From the house, it becomes the first object the eye lands on. From the side, it acts as a marker that gives depth to the narrow plot.

Metal against concrete, with just enough reflection

The aluminium surface reflects more than it shines. It catches nearby greenery, the pale plane of the concrete patio with linear joints, and the darker band of slate chippings. That soft reflection helps the feature sit into the garden instead of floating above it. The mirrors nearby extend the same idea on a larger scale. Together, they widen the visual field and make the space feel less enclosed. This is where the project’s spatial strategy becomes clear: light, reflection and straight lines do the work of enlargement.

Wood accents that temper the hard surfaces

Wood enters in two places: the terrace and the garden shed. Both interrupt the colder palette of concrete and aluminium, but they do so quietly. The wooden terrace brings a narrower, warmer strip to the edge of the house, while the wooden garden shed sits back as a practical volume rather than a visual statement. Together they keep the garden from becoming all surface and metal. The wood concrete aluminium combination gains depth because each material has a different role and texture.

The change from concrete to wood is easy to read. Underfoot, the ipe wood terrace has a denser tone than the poured floor beside it, so the transition marks a shift in use without needing walls or steps. The shed follows the same logic. It is part storage, part backdrop, and its vertical boards sit comfortably beside the harder geometry of the patio. In a city garden, that mix of materials can feel abrupt. Here, the shifts are measured and specific.

A garden shed with a green roof and a terrace in ipe

The garden shed has an extensive green roof, which is visible as a soft top line when seen from above. That roof changes how the shed reads from the upper floor of the renovated townhouse. Instead of a bare cap, there is a planted surface that tempers the block of wood below it. The project text names it directly, and it becomes part of the wider composition rather than a separate detail. In a compact plot, even the roof of a shed matters.

At ground level, the ipe wood terrace meets the concrete with a clear joint. Around the aluminium planters, slate chippings collect in the edges and continue the line language used across the floor. The terrace finish in ipe and slate chippings around aluminium planters ties the different zones together without smoothing them into one surface. The pieces remain distinct: wood underfoot, stone in the seams, metal at the planters, greenery at the perimeter.

Measured layers in a narrow urban plot

Nothing here is oversized, and that restraint is part of the appeal. The garden uses a limited palette of concrete, aluminium, wood and planting, then repeats them in different scales. A straight line in the floor reappears in the shed, the terrace edge and the long metal feature. A soft layer of green returns at the boundary walls and on the shed roof. Because the materials stay consistent, the space feels coherent without becoming repetitive. Each detail has a visible job, from screening to reflection to grounding the layout.

The final impression is of a city garden that works through precision. Concrete marks the ground, aluminium carries the focal point, mirrors widen the view, and wood takes the edge off the harder surfaces. The planting does not fill every corner; it lines the boundaries where it can screen and frame. That is what gives the modern city garden with concrete and aluminium its character: a small set of materials, handled with clear spacing and a strong eye for how they read from the house and from above.