hollin hills, alexandria

hollin hills

architect of hollin hills, charles goodman

hollin hills interior

hollin hills

http://www.hollinhills.com/

In the 1950's Hollin Hills was the first community of contemporary homes built in the Washington, D.C. area. Robert Davenport purchased the land in a courthouse auction for $550. Along with the the Rodman brothers, he developed Hollin Hills, using the designs of architect Charles Goodman, and landscape plans by Lou Bernard Voight and Eric Paepcke. Many homes had garden plans prepared by Dan Kiley, who also prepared landscape designs for Dulles Airport, the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis and the United States Air Force Academy.

The first houses were occupied in 1949 and the last of the 458 homes in the development was completed in 1971. It is still one of the few contemporary developments in the D.C. area.

Designed to preserve trees and blend with the contour of the land, Hollin Hills was -- and remains today -- avant-garde, given the boom at the time for look-alike tract houses and the pressures from the post-World War II housing shortage. The homes were placed at angles on their lots to provide privacy. The architecture, emphasized with glass and brick with floor-to ceiling windows, obscure the lines between the structures and their surroundings.

Hollin Hills houses have won many awards, beginning with the Revere Quality House award from the Southwest Research Institute in 1950, naming it the nation’s outstanding development. Other awards included the 1982 Test of Time Award from the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects. Hollin Hills also has been placed on the Fairfax County, Virginia, Inventory of Historic Sites.