On a former industrial site close to the historical heart of the renownedDutch university city of Leiden, emerges one of the biggest urbandevelopments of private-collective dwellings in the Netherlands.In their series of eleven town houses, Rotterdam based architectspasel.kzel architects present yet another exceptional residence.V36K08/09 is the front end of a terrace that is built on a collectiveparking garage. The residence comprises two separate dwellings formother and son, including two spacious and hidden patios. The darkpre-patinated zinc fade with its subtle disposition of seams gives thebuilding a calm but yet spectacular appearance.Looking from the outside, the house appears rather compact andclosed - a fortress in the urban tissue. Only by entering the estatethrough the heavy wooden gate, one gets into an utterly different innerworld - an oasis of tranquillity, a living space that is generous and open,where inside and outside merge into each other.