Concrete den by Welsh + Major nestles in a Sydney garden
This angular concrete hideaway by Australian studio Welsh + Major sits amongst the trees in the garden of a late-Victorian house in inner-city Sydney (+ slideshow).
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_468_16.jpg)
Known as the Garden Room, the single-storey structure provides a quiet retreat for the residents of the house, but also accommodates a sheltered parking area for their car and bicycles.
Welsh + Major – who also recently converted a 19th century police station into a restaurant – imagined the building as a series of indoor and outdoor spaces that surround and enclose the existing garden.
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_468_15.jpg)
"The project is conceived with the garden at its centre," said the design team. "It bookends a lush central garden space with the garden flowing around and through the structure."
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
The structure is made up of two adjoining pavilions, sheltered beneath a pair of pitched concrete canopies and connected by a glazed corridor.
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
On one side, the roof is raised up on steel columns to create the sheltered parking areas. The other contains a lounge room that can be exposed to the elements by sliding open glass doors.
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
A bathroom and kitchen area sit on either side of the central corridor, meaning the building can be used as a guest suite when friends come to stay.
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_468_10.jpg)
Rather than adding too many partitions, the architects used a variety of floor surfaces to define different areas. This palette includes concrete and wood, and is also used on the walls and ceilings.
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
"Robust materials used in the new work are designed to take on the patina of the garden itself in time," said the team.
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
As well as framing the main garden space, the Garden Room also creates a small patio at the rear, where wooden slats offer quiet seating areas.
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_468_11.jpg)
Photography is by Brett Boardman.
Project credits:
Architect: Welsh + Major
Project Team: Chris Major, David Welsh, Steven Sheridan
Builder: Davden Enterprises
Garden Designer: Peter Fudge Design
Structural Engineers: Birzulis Associates
Hydraulic Engineers: Henry & Hymas
Arborist: Robert Hannan
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_17.gif)
![Garden Room by Welsh Major Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Garden-Room-by-Welsh-Major-Architects_dezeen_18.gif)