The Four Pillars of Hollin Hills

The Four Pillars of the Tour

The Hollin Hills House+Garden Tour showcases the singular vision of developer Robert Davenport and architect Charles Goodman. The neighborhood reflects the harmony brought about by intentional design and the blending of the natural and architectural worlds. Residents Jeff Jenkins and Rick Ward have contributed these writings on architecture, landscape, art and interiors--the four pillars that define this one-of-a-kind community.

ARCHITECTURE

The “GI” bill promised education and housing at the end of the war. A grateful nation sought to reward the heroes of the conflict with the way and means to grow and prosper. Housing was a key; affordable housing a necessity. Post-war residential developers took up the challenge. As an example; bean and corn fields on Long Island, New York were transformed into suburban enclaves based on the country’s colonial past: Levittown. A pattern of regular and repetitive designs accomplished the mandate. But there was another way. A radical way to envision not the past but the future. 

To construct the machines of war, manufacturers and industry as a whole developed modular designs that could be built inexpensively and in great numbers. That success, post war, was embraced by a hand-full of residential developers across the county. Davenport, the developer and Hollin Hills, the result, is but one example of this process.  

Replicating the designs of the past was not practical, too labor intensive, required more material and caused costs to increase. The solution was to re imagine what actually constituted the physical envelope that defined living space. Inspiration was to be found through necessity. The unadorned rectangle was the beginning: simple, functional, spacious and easy to construct using modular designs.  

But how does one transform four walls and a roof into the optimistic vision pervasive at the time? This was Goodman, the architect, his challenge and his genius. Glass. Pierce the envelope not with small traditional openings but build with expansive walls of glass. Allow massive amounts of sunlight to filter into the space. Remove the confines of enclosed space to reveal the natural environment in which that space is held. Let nature take an active role in the new habitation. Let the occupants of the structure constantly reflect in the appreciation of the natural world and it’s daily wonders. The heart and soul of Hollin Hills is the pursuit of happiness made manifest. R. Ward

INTERIORS

Hollin Hills originally represented the ideal of “democratic design” long before this label was ever thought of or applied to products being manufactured. The main notion of this term, that is now so broadly used today is the idea that good design should be first and foremost affordable and therefore available to everyone. 

Hollin Hills was initially established as modest affordable housing for the post-war era. In some ways you could say that Hollin Hills was the first example of residential architecture being developed as an industrial design project. Economies of scale, prefabrication and series production were the driving motivations behind the design of these homes. 

Hollin Hills was one of the first residential developments in the U.S. to incorporate prefabricated off-site structural components. This resulted in modest and compact yet visually open interiors. The openness in these new interiors required furniture to play a new role. Seating, surfaces, and storage now had to go beyond their basic originally intended function. They now had to be used to delineate living space. To become part of the architecture rather than just mere props or visual decor. 

Hollin Hills interiors are of a unique scale and proportion dictated by the modest nature of the architecture. This presents a challenge in furnishing the interior space that is unlike most conventional residential interior design.  The compact nature of the resulting interiors expresses the modest intent of Goodman’s vision. This modest scale does not allow for excessiveness on the interior. The selection of furniture requires a judicious attitude in order to avoid compromising Goodman’s carefully planned proportions that so successfully blends the exterior natural surroundings and the interior of the built environment. 

The use of period furniture here is called into question. Early American or traditional European antiques no longer seemed appropriate when Hollin Hills interiors first started to be furnished in 1949. The modest scale is best addressed with properly planned modern built-ins for practicality along with independently flexible pieces that are lean and sturdy. Modularity and furniture items that transform to become multi-use are best suited for maximizing use of this type of space. 

In retrospect, Hollin Hills really called for the production of a line of furniture that intelligently responds to the challenging constraints of scale and proportion inherent in Hollin Hills shelter. It’s interesting to ponder the possibilities of what the outcome might have been had Goodman and Davenport partnered with Charles and Ray Eames and a leading manufacturer of modern furniture such as Herman Miller or Knoll to develop a product line to meet the specific needs of Hollin Hills interiors? 

Charles Goodman’s bold use of glass in all of the Hollin Hills homes predetermined that the most important and primary material for the interiors is sunlight. Interior walls are kept to a minimum allowing for space to remain open and flowing with common site lines visually enhanced by natural light. Full length window walls become visual furniture elements unto themselves, requiring careful furniture placement so as to not compete or interfere with the view to the outside. The setting and carefully considered placement of each individual home assures that everyone enjoys pastoral views of the surrounding landscape. The single plane concrete slab foundation so common in Hollin Hills homes accentuates the blending of the interior with exterior natural setting. 

Large brick fireplace slab elements are prominent. This traditional brick masonry is perhaps the only component that gives any reference to historic architecture. Floor plans and exterior walls were created in such a way to encourage owners to plan and build future additions to accommodate expanding families. The Hollin Hills basic product models were sold in a ready to be customized condition. The new owners had easy options for expanding their interiors in the future by Goodman’s forward looking vision of planning for this through his flexible exterior elevations and the existing interior design layout based on his 12’ module increment throughout. J. Jenkins 

LANDSCAPE

Land granted to George Mason and then later part of the Hollin Farm, Hollin Hills is topographically composed of two distinct parcels. The first parcel, developed between 1945 and 1960 is bounded by Fort Hunt Rd., Paul Spring creek, Rebecca Road and Elba Rd. The second parcel, developed between 1960 and 1975 is bounded by Davenport Street, Elba Rd., Mason Hill Road and the nature preserve off Delafield Place. 

The first section is hilly, rolling terrain and the second is flatland. But both share one distinctive feature. Each house is uniquely situated and oriented on it’s designated lot within each section. Each house maximizes its privacy and the view of the landscape. The sight lines from each house were chosen to enhance the common space shared by each structure. 

Originally cultivated farm land and fields prevailed during construction. But today the landscape has been transformed through intentional design and by the arbitrariness of nature into a heavily wooded environment. 

Chosen to exploit the architectural features of the residences, landscape architects such as Kiley and Voight, among others, sought to add exterior elements that would allow the residents to enjoy their individual natural spaces while promoting the geometry of the outside/in or inside/out visual concept. Most of the designers chose to incorporate native plant material in an effort to define individual spaces in an attempt to convey a feeling of joint community presence. 

Hardscapes where kept at a minimum and utilized both curvilinear and rectilinear elements. While many of the original landscape plans were never executed, the landscape architects where keenly aware of the unique nature of the development and sought to highlight the developer’s diametric concept of openness and privacy wherever they could. R. Ward

ART

Transition and radical transformation define American Art of the Mid-Twentieth century.

From the foundation of Fauvism, Impressionism, Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, Surrealism and other European movements which defined the erasure of academic traditions to the personal interpretation of Beauty and Truth. 

From the idealization of individualism came objects unlike past periods. No longer were artists obligated by external forces to produce determined images. The atomic explosion ushered in an era of technological change that positioned human expectations at an accelerated and elevated level. It changed the way the world was viewed. And artists of all mediums acknowledged the change through their efforts. The artists in mid-Twentieth century America became their own philosopher kings and queens. The thrones which they occupied encompassed the aesthetic realm exploding with optimism and confidence celebrating the self expression of a liberated world. 

Artists such as deKooning, Pollock, Rothko, Still, Newman, Klein, O’keeffe, Calder, Smith and Nevelson wrote their own rules defining their activities as evidence of Truth and Beauty. The definitions which they made constructed a creative cauldron in which artist’s of today find continuing sustenance. The objects made during mid-Twentieth century America spoke only for themselves and yet opened the world to new vistas, a new dynamism of what it means to be Human in an ever changing, developing environment. The world view changed. The future of art was born in mid-Twentieth century America. It still reverberates, communicates and remains celebrated today. R. Ward 

CONCLUSION

The Hollin Hills experiment is a great example of what is commonly referred to as Mid-Century Modern Design and proves that Goodman’s vision of orchestrating a complete environmental living experience works well and continues to attract eager participants. As we are now rapidly approaching the middle of a new century, how should the historic Goodman-Davenport collaboration self described as an “architectural laboratory” inform a new modernism for the twenty first century?

While the community of Hollin Hills was being completed, man had first landed on the moon. Now we are entering the age of space tourism with the distinct possibility of this advanced travel experience soon becoming included in this notion of “democratic design” in that space travel will eventually be available to everyone. As we currently witness these and other technological advancements, certainly there will be an accompanying development of an entirely new and revised version of Goodman’s utopian vision. Goodman’s bold and pioneering vision of a holistic living community from nearly 80 years ago still to this day provides optimism and hope for the future. J. Jenkins