welcome to hollin hills
a midcentury modern masterpiece
Just a few miles south of Washington DC, past the stately colonial buildings of Alexandria, Virginia, sits one of the most unusual — and beautiful — communities in America.
Nestled into a rolling, park-like setting, more than 450 mid-century modern houses seem to float weightlessly in a canopy of trees. There are no traditional suburban houses here, and few fences or barriers of any kind. Instead, the houses — with walls of glass and clean, geometric lines — perch lightly and naturally in the wooded hillsides, as if they were part of the landscape itself.
what is
hollin hills?
The place is Hollin Hills — perhaps the most thoughtfully-designed and well-preserved modernist community anywhere in the world. Built between 1946 and 1971, it was the brainchild of developer Robert Davenport and architect Charles Goodman, visionaries who wanted to bring a bold new approach to housing in America — and who believed that modern architecture could foster both community and, as Goodman put it, “the flowering of the individual.”
Davenport and Goodman turned these wooded hills into an “architectural laboratory,” creating a community both strikingly modern and utterly natural. Pared to an elegant simplicity, the houses have wide expanses of floor-to-ceiling windows to erase the line between indoors and outdoors, while the light-filled “open-plan” interiors create a sense of freedom and space.
And the architecture’s integration into the steep terrain remains particularly striking. The houses don’t try to dominate the landscape — they embrace it. Rather than being laid out on a bulldozed grid, the streets follow the natural flow of the hills, with the houses set at unique angles to enhance views into the trees. Fences are rare, and each property flows freely into the next, tying the community together into a green and park-like whole.
Now, seven decades after its founding, Hollin Hills remains a masterpiece of modern architecture. The winner of numerous design awards, it’s had a lasting impact on postwar American housing and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But it’s also a vibrant, living community of creative people in almost every field, from architects and writers to lawyers and physicians, drawn by the beauty of the architecture and the imaginative freedom it seems to represent.
Is it the modernist utopia its founders dreamed of? Maybe not quite. But as the architecture critic Michael Sorkin once put it, “Hollin Hills is one of the truly happy experiments in modernity … the kind of community so many modernists dreamed of, a beautiful place of social activism, love of nature, and potluck picnics.”
— Stephen Brookes, Editor
the
hollin hills
journal
architecture,
people, culture
and design
in a modernist american community
inside:
new in hollin hills
news from the hills: dispatches from our near-flung correspondents
The who, the what, the when, the where (and sometimes the why) of what’s happening in Hollin Hills.
people: the beautiful, beguiling world of bobbie godwin
Abstract painter Bobbie Godwin has been at the heart of the Hollin Hills art scene for decades — and, at 88, is still creating unique, captivating and wildly inventive work.
landscape: a spectacular hollin hills garden emerges from the original dan kiley landscape plan
When they set out to transform their Beechwood Road property, two Hollin Hills homeowners turned for inspiration to the original 1953 landscape plan by architect Daniel Kiley — who used the property to develop ideas that would transform the modern American landscape.
adventure: an epic amble through the streets of hollin hills
Seth Styers sets out to walk every street in Hollin Hills in one go — and discovers an abandoned ghost, a blasé snake, a cow wearing a hat and other wonders, right here in our own back yard.
art: susan cohen on the “intimate connection” between art, artists and collectors
Do we connect with an artistic object — a handmade bowl, for instance — by touching and interacting with it? Or should we treat it as a work of art, and put it on a shelf to be admired at a distance? Hollin Hills potter Susan Cohen explores the way we live with art — and how it can bind us to each other.
around the parks: a nature library comes to mccalley park
A park bench, a sunny morning, and a stack of books on butterflies and baby animals. What more could a bookworm want? We spent a morning exploring the new and very entertaining Little Free Library in McCalley Park — here’s why you should head there with the kids.
poetry: hollin hills poet cliff bernier turns to the oceans for his new book
Poet Cliff Bernier is best known for his beat poetry and searing blues harp. But for his latest collection — titled Ocean Suite — he turns his ear to the sea for a suite of quiet, introspective poems that probe the deep waters of sound, language, and meaning itself .
the visionary architecture
of charles goodman
Hollin Hills was launched in the 1940s as an “architectural laboratory” that would build community, connect people with nature, and encourage the “flowering of the individual.” Amazingly enough, it works.
who was charles goodman?
Architect, philosopher, populist, dreamer — the designer of Hollin Hills helped shape the look of the postwar world.
hollin hills at 75: modern then, modern now, modern forever
Why does the modernist architecture of Hollin Hills still feel so new? It may be the spirit of daring and freedom that inspired Charles Goodman’s innovative designs.
the restoration of alcoa house
A bold, futuristic Hollin Hills home had fallen into decline after decades of neglect. But Lee and Peter Braun brought this rare Goodman design back to its full glory with a meticulous restoration — and saved an important part of modern architectural history.
can modern architecture save your life?
Kayde Schwabacher on modernist buildings, pandemics, and the promise of a healthier life through design.
tsunami modern: the anything-goes interiors of hollin hills homes
Vintage Danish? Coastal Grandma? Hollin Hills homes are as eclectic — and imaginative — as their owners.
modern art and the hollin hills home
A Hollin Hills collector talks about his life in the world of contemporary art — and why we all need to live with beauty.
house tour: kid-friendly modern
Architect Michael Cook transformed a Marthas Road house into a stunning home for a young family.
house tour: eclectic modern
This Hollin Hills house blends vintage Danish Modern furniture, Asian antiquities, and African artifacts into a harmonious whole.
a landscape of democracy
Hollin Hills landscape architect Dennis Carmichael on the integration of “natural” and “cultural” landscapes that defines the community.
fertile minds: barney voigt and the blooming of the hollin hills gardener
The first residents of Hollin Hills pioneered an experimental approach to landscaping that shaped the community. It wasn’t always easy — but the stage was set for a landscape that respects both individuality and the overall cohesion of the landscape.
how to get your original landscape plan
Professional landscape plans were prepared for each property in Hollin Hills in the community’s first decades — part of an effort to create a natural but very modern landscape that would knit the community together. Many of those original plans are available from the Library of Congress and Harvard University; here’s how to get yours.
artists, spies and other neighbors
Hollin Hills has always been as notable for its residents as for its pathbreaking architecture. Meet a few of the creative, committed and accomplished people — from Roberta Flack to Leslie Gelb — who have made this unique community their home.
hollin hills heart throb
Meet Jeanne Gayler — Miss America runner-up, Hollywood actress … and founder of the Committee on East-West Accord, the most important anti-nuclear proliferation organization in Washington, DC.
please do not jump on the viola!
Hollin Hills virtuoso Jerome Gordon has toured with Celine Dion, coached movie stars and performed for the Pope. He really does not need to hear your viola jokes.
more in life and culture
romance: so … you’re in love with a hollin hiller!
Uh oh, this could be trouble — you need to read our guide to modern romance, stat!
friendship: birding with barry
Peter Kinzler remembers an avian outing with his friend Barry Pearson.
poem: at 75
Hollin Hills poet Cliff Bernier took to the parks in 2024 for a spare, evocative poem marking the 75th Anniversary of Hollin Hills.
life: spring cleaning, freeganism, and baby-proofing the black hole of despair
The Stuff is coming. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
life: the joys and terrors of other people
Introverts abound in Hollin Hills, bringing creativity, productivity … and much-needed quiet.
the media: public television likes us! they really, really like us!
When a Hollin Hills house was featured on PBS in 2023, we just about died from blushing. No, really, we did.