From a present-day perspective the use of space in this 1960s development of single-storey row houses with basement (built by Göhner) seems wasteful. The layout of the estate is far from dense, and, accordingly, it is permitted to increase the amount of residential space. But this space has to be calculated for the entire site, making protracted negotiations with all the neighbours affected necessary. As, according to the building regulations, underground buildings do not count as utilization of space, we proposed to make an underground patio house as a kind of ‘second house’. Whereas the two courtyards are sharply incised in the garden, the two new bedrooms and a bathroom are attached to the existing basement. The house and garden interlock. The existing hobby room was converted to a third bedroom and a former crawl space into a home cinema. This gain of space allowed two ground floor rooms to be opened up and gives a certain expansiveness and generosity in the area of living space. It is only now that this house responds to its privileged situation as the end building in a row and creates a highly specific termination.