To realise their ambitious dream, a bungalow with an orchard in the centre of Amsterdam, our clients bought a complex of ruinous building and a neglected canal house. The stark contrast between this romantic dream and the reality of the site provided us with a major challenge. The unusual L-shaped parcel of land and the requiremnt for privacy in an inner court bordered by housing and offices needed a careful staging of the transitions between interior and exterior. The solution rests in the fragmentation of the total image of the development: only by moving through the house are the images connected and cohesion is created. The entrance to this city bungalow is located in the canal house; as well as the entrance to the two new apartments on the top floors. The essential need for natural light admittance required that the back premises of the house were demolished. As a result a patio was created, the actual entrance hall receives diffuse lighting. In two low stories a library and guest rooms have been realised. The stairs to the library have an open connection to the living area(s). This part of the house can be opened to the garden by means of a double sliding door, offering a tremendous view transversely to the length of the building on the length of the building. The other spaces of the house have a totally different relationship with the garden. The private areas can all be connected through the use of small sliding doors on the garden side; the childrens rooms also have a connection with the hall creating an enlarged playing area.