diff --git a/moo/lib/gc.c b/moo/lib/gc.c
index a37776d..2d7f1ff 100644
--- a/moo/lib/gc.c
+++ b/moo/lib/gc.c
@@ -579,13 +579,9 @@ int moo_ignite (moo_t* moo, moo_oow_t heapsz)
 {
 	MOO_ASSERT (moo, moo->_nil == MOO_NULL);
 
-	/*moo->permheap = moo_makeheap (moo, what is the best size???);
-	if (!moo->permheap) goto oops; */
-	if (moo->curheap) moo_killheap (moo, moo->curheap);
-	if (moo->newheap) moo_killheap (moo, moo->newheap);
-	moo->curheap = moo_makeheap(moo, heapsz);
-	moo->newheap = moo_makeheap(moo, heapsz);
-	if (!moo->curheap || !moo->newheap) return -1;
+	if (moo->heap) moo_killheap (moo, moo->heap);
+	moo->heap = moo_makeheap(moo, heapsz);
+	if (!moo->heap) return -1;
 
 	moo->_nil = moo_allocbytes (moo, MOO_SIZEOF(moo_obj_t));
 	if (!moo->_nil) return -1;
@@ -730,7 +726,7 @@ moo_oop_t moo_moveoop (moo_t* moo, moo_oop_t oop)
 		nbytes_aligned = get_payload_bytes (moo, oop);
 
 		/* allocate space in the new heap */
-		tmp = moo_allocheapmem (moo, moo->newheap, MOO_SIZEOF(moo_obj_t) + nbytes_aligned);
+		tmp = moo_allocheapspace(moo, &moo->heap->newspace, MOO_SIZEOF(moo_obj_t) + nbytes_aligned);
 
 		/* allocation here must not fail because
 		 * i'm allocating the new space in a new heap for 
@@ -759,7 +755,7 @@ moo_oop_t moo_moveoop (moo_t* moo, moo_oop_t oop)
 
 static moo_uint8_t* scan_new_heap (moo_t* moo, moo_uint8_t* ptr)
 {
-	while (ptr < moo->newheap->ptr)
+	while (ptr < moo->heap->newspace.ptr)
 	{
 		moo_oow_t i;
 		moo_oow_t nbytes_aligned;
@@ -863,7 +859,7 @@ void moo_gc (moo_t* moo)
 	 * finally perform some tricky symbol table clean-up.
 	 */
 	moo_uint8_t* scan_ptr;
-	moo_heap_t* tmp;
+	moo_space_t tmp;
 	moo_oop_t old_nil;
 	moo_oow_t i;
 	moo_evtcb_t* cb;
@@ -884,9 +880,9 @@ void moo_gc (moo_t* moo)
 
 	MOO_LOG4 (moo, MOO_LOG_GC | MOO_LOG_INFO, 
 		"Starting GC curheap base %p ptr %p newheap base %p ptr %p\n",
-		moo->curheap->base, moo->curheap->ptr, moo->newheap->base, moo->newheap->ptr); 
+		moo->heap->curspace.base, moo->heap->curspace.ptr, moo->heap->newspace.base, moo->heap->newspace.ptr); 
 
-	scan_ptr = (moo_uint8_t*) MOO_ALIGN ((moo_uintptr_t)moo->newheap->base, MOO_SIZEOF(moo_oop_t));
+	scan_ptr = (moo_uint8_t*) MOO_ALIGN ((moo_uintptr_t)moo->heap->newspace.base, MOO_SIZEOF(moo_oop_t));
 
 	/* TODO: allocate common objects like _nil and the root dictionary 
 	 *       in the permanant heap.  minimize moving around */
@@ -981,12 +977,12 @@ void moo_gc (moo_t* moo)
 	/* the contents of the current heap is not needed any more.
 	 * reset the upper bound to the base. don't forget to align the heap
 	 * pointer to the OOP size. See moo_makeheap() also */
-	moo->curheap->ptr = (moo_uint8_t*)MOO_ALIGN(((moo_uintptr_t)moo->curheap->base), MOO_SIZEOF(moo_oop_t));
+	moo->heap->curspace.ptr = (moo_uint8_t*)MOO_ALIGN(((moo_uintptr_t)moo->heap->curspace.base), MOO_SIZEOF(moo_oop_t));
 
 	/* swap the current heap and old heap */
-	tmp = moo->curheap;
-	moo->curheap = moo->newheap;
-	moo->newheap = tmp;
+	tmp = moo->heap->curspace;
+	moo->heap->curspace = moo->heap->newspace;
+	moo->heap->newspace = tmp;
 
 /*
 	if (moo->symtab && MOO_LOG_ENABLED(moo, MOO_LOG_GC | MOO_LOG_DEBUG))
@@ -1012,7 +1008,7 @@ void moo_gc (moo_t* moo)
 	/* TODO: include some gc statstics like number of live objects, gc performance, etc */
 	MOO_LOG4 (moo, MOO_LOG_GC | MOO_LOG_INFO, 
 		"Finished GC curheap base %p ptr %p newheap base %p ptr %p\n",
-		moo->curheap->base, moo->curheap->ptr, moo->newheap->base, moo->newheap->ptr); 
+		moo->heap->curspace.base, moo->heap->curspace.ptr, moo->heap->newspace.base, moo->heap->newspace.ptr); 
 }
 
 void moo_pushtmp (moo_t* moo, moo_oop_t* oop_ptr)
diff --git a/moo/lib/heap.c b/moo/lib/heap.c
index 14bd699..1369bc4 100644
--- a/moo/lib/heap.c
+++ b/moo/lib/heap.c
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@
 moo_heap_t* moo_makeheap (moo_t* moo, moo_oow_t size)
 {
 	moo_heap_t* heap;
+	moo_oow_t half_size;
+
+	if (size < 65536) size = 65536; /* not really useful check as 65536 is too small */
+	half_size = size / 2;
 
 	heap = (moo_heap_t*)moo->vmprim.alloc_heap(moo, MOO_SIZEOF(*heap) + size);
 	if (!heap) 
@@ -39,19 +43,20 @@ moo_heap_t* moo_makeheap (moo_t* moo, moo_oow_t size)
 	}
 
 	MOO_MEMSET (heap, 0, MOO_SIZEOF(*heap) + size);
-
 	heap->base = (moo_uint8_t*)(heap + 1);
-	/* adjust the initial allocation pointer to a multiple of the oop size */
-	heap->ptr = (moo_uint8_t*)MOO_ALIGN(((moo_uintptr_t)heap->base), MOO_SIZEOF(moo_oop_t));
-	heap->limit = heap->base + size;
+	heap->size = size;
 
-	MOO_ASSERT (moo, heap->ptr >= heap->base);
-	MOO_ASSERT (moo, heap->limit >= heap->base ); 
-	MOO_ASSERT (moo, heap->limit - heap->base == size);
+	heap->curspace.base= (moo_uint8_t*)(heap + 1);
+	heap->curspace.ptr = (moo_uint8_t*)MOO_ALIGN(((moo_uintptr_t)heap->curspace.base), MOO_SIZEOF(moo_oop_t));
+	heap->curspace.limit = heap->curspace.ptr + half_size;
 
-	/* if size is too small, heap->ptr may go past heap->limit even at 
-	 * this moment depending on the alignment of heap->base. subsequent
-	 * calls to submoo_allocheapmem() are bound to fail. Make sure to
+	heap->newspace.base = (moo_uint8_t*)(heap + 1) + half_size;
+	heap->newspace.ptr = (moo_uint8_t*)MOO_ALIGN(((moo_uintptr_t)heap->newspace.base), MOO_SIZEOF(moo_oop_t));
+	heap->newspace.limit = heap->newspace.ptr + half_size;
+
+	/* if size is too small, space->ptr may go past space->limit even at 
+	 * this moment depending on the alignment of space->base. subsequent
+	 * calls to moo_allocheapspace() are bound to fail. Make sure to
 	 * pass a heap size large enough */
 
 	return heap;
@@ -62,22 +67,22 @@ void moo_killheap (moo_t* moo, moo_heap_t* heap)
 	moo->vmprim.free_heap (moo, heap);
 }
 
-void* moo_allocheapmem (moo_t* moo, moo_heap_t* heap, moo_oow_t size)
+void* moo_allocheapspace (moo_t* moo, moo_space_t* space, moo_oow_t size)
 {
 	moo_uint8_t* ptr;
 
-	/* check the heap size limit */
-	if (heap->ptr >= heap->limit || heap->limit - heap->ptr < size)
+	/* check the space size limit */
+	if (space->ptr >= space->limit || space->limit - space->ptr < size)
 	{
-		MOO_DEBUG5 (moo, "Cannot allocate %zd bytes from heap - ptr %p limit %p size %zd free %zd\n",
-			size, heap->ptr, heap->limit, (moo_oow_t)(heap->limit - heap->base), (moo_oow_t)(heap->limit - heap->ptr));
+		MOO_DEBUG5 (moo, "Cannot allocate %zd bytes from space - ptr %p limit %p size %zd free %zd\n",
+			size, space->ptr, space->limit, (moo_oow_t)(space->limit - space->base), (moo_oow_t)(space->limit - space->ptr));
 		moo_seterrnum (moo, MOO_EOOMEM);
 		return MOO_NULL;
 	}
 
-	/* allocation is as simple as moving the heap pointer */
-	ptr = heap->ptr;
-	heap->ptr += size;
+	/* allocation is as simple as moving the space pointer */
+	ptr = space->ptr;
+	space->ptr += size;
 
 	return ptr;
 }
diff --git a/moo/lib/moo-prv.h b/moo/lib/moo-prv.h
index e37d1b3..b343089 100644
--- a/moo/lib/moo-prv.h
+++ b/moo/lib/moo-prv.h
@@ -1073,15 +1073,15 @@ void moo_killheap (
 );
 
 /**
- * The moo_allocheapmem() function allocates \a size bytes in the heap pointed
+ * The moo_allocheapspace() function allocates \a size bytes in the heap pointed
  * to by \a heap.
  *
  * \return memory pointer on success and #MOO_NULL on failure.
  */
-void* moo_allocheapmem (
-	moo_t*      moo,
-	moo_heap_t* heap,
-	moo_oow_t   size
+void* moo_allocheapspace (
+	moo_t*       moo,
+	moo_space_t* space,
+	moo_oow_t    size
 );
 
 /* ========================================================================= */
diff --git a/moo/lib/moo.c b/moo/lib/moo.c
index 8ee7190..fd82c28 100644
--- a/moo/lib/moo.c
+++ b/moo/lib/moo.c
@@ -247,9 +247,7 @@ void moo_fini (moo_t* moo)
 
 	/* if the moo object is closed without moo_ignite(),
 	 * the heap may not exist */
-	if (moo->newheap) moo_killheap (moo, moo->newheap);
-	if (moo->curheap) moo_killheap (moo, moo->curheap);
-	if (moo->permheap) moo_killheap (moo, moo->permheap);
+	if (moo->heap) moo_killheap (moo, moo->heap);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < MOO_COUNTOF(moo->sbuf); i++)
 	{
diff --git a/moo/lib/moo.h b/moo/lib/moo.h
index 317bd6a..48706ac 100644
--- a/moo/lib/moo.h
+++ b/moo/lib/moo.h
@@ -963,16 +963,28 @@ struct moo_process_scheduler_t
 #define MOO_BYTESOF(moo,oop) \
 	(MOO_OOP_IS_NUMERIC(oop)? MOO_SIZEOF(moo_oow_t): MOO_OBJ_BYTESOF(oop))
 
+typedef struct moo_space_t moo_space_t;
 
-typedef struct moo_heap_t moo_heap_t;
-
-struct moo_heap_t
+struct moo_space_t
 {
 	moo_uint8_t* base;  /* start of a heap */
 	moo_uint8_t* limit; /* end of a heap */
 	moo_uint8_t* ptr;   /* next allocation pointer */
 };
 
+typedef struct moo_heap_t moo_heap_t;
+
+struct moo_heap_t
+{
+	moo_uint8_t* base;
+	moo_oow_t    size;
+
+	moo_space_t  permspace;
+	moo_space_t  curspace;
+	moo_space_t  newspace;
+};
+
+
 /* =========================================================================
  * MOO VM LOGGING
  * ========================================================================= */
@@ -1428,9 +1440,7 @@ struct moo_t
 
 	/* ========================= */
 
-	moo_heap_t* permheap; /* TODO: put kernel objects to here */
-	moo_heap_t* curheap;
-	moo_heap_t* newheap;
+	moo_heap_t* heap;
 
 	/* =============================================================
 	 * nil, true, false
diff --git a/moo/lib/obj.c b/moo/lib/obj.c
index cd901f6..f7bfe9a 100644
--- a/moo/lib/obj.c
+++ b/moo/lib/obj.c
@@ -34,17 +34,17 @@ void* moo_allocbytes (moo_t* moo, moo_oow_t size)
 	if ((moo->option.trait & MOO_DEBUG_GC) && !(moo->option.trait & MOO_NOGC)) moo_gc (moo);
 #endif
 
-	ptr = (moo_uint8_t*)moo_allocheapmem(moo, moo->curheap, size);
+	ptr = (moo_uint8_t*)moo_allocheapspace(moo, &moo->heap->curspace, size);
 	if (!ptr && moo->errnum == MOO_EOOMEM && !(moo->option.trait & MOO_NOGC))
 	{
 		moo_gc (moo);
 		MOO_LOG4 (moo, MOO_LOG_GC | MOO_LOG_INFO,
 			"GC completed - current heap ptr %p limit %p size %zd free %zd\n", 
-			moo->curheap->ptr, moo->curheap->limit,
-			(moo_oow_t)(moo->curheap->limit - moo->curheap->base),
-			(moo_oow_t)(moo->curheap->limit - moo->curheap->ptr)
+			moo->heap->curspace.ptr, moo->heap->curspace.limit,
+			(moo_oow_t)(moo->heap->curspace.limit - moo->heap->curspace.base),
+			(moo_oow_t)(moo->heap->curspace.limit - moo->heap->curspace.ptr)
 		);
-		ptr = (moo_uint8_t*)moo_allocheapmem(moo, moo->curheap, size);
+		ptr = (moo_uint8_t*)moo_allocheapspace(moo, &moo->heap->curspace, size);
 /* TODO: grow heap if ptr is still null. */
 	}