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Photo, Print, Drawing Hollin Hills, Unit House No. 5B, 2204 Glasgow Road, Hollin Hills, Fairfax County, VA Adelita O. and Howard H. Wallace Jr. House Virginia M. Wallace House

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[ Drawings from Survey HABS VA-586-C  ]

More Resources

[ Data Pages from Survey HABS VA-586-C  ]
[ Photo Captions from Survey HABS VA-586-C  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Hollin Hills, Unit House No. 5B, 2204 Glasgow Road, Hollin Hills, Fairfax County, VA

Other Title

  • Adelita O. and Howard H. Wallace Jr. House Virginia M. Wallace House

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Goodman, Charles M.
  • Kiley, Dan
  • Davenport, Robert C.
  • Voigt, Lou B.
  • House & Home Magazine
  • Arzola, Robert R., project manager
  • Najera, Emelyn R., delineator
  • Merriweather, Taurean J., delineator
  • Lockett, Dana, field team
  • Lavoie, Catherine C., historian
  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities Internship Program, sponsor
  • Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP), sponsor
  • Greening Youth Foundation, sponsor
  • Hispanic Access Foundation, sponsor
  • U.S. National Park Service (NPS), Youth Programs, sponsor
  • Scalera, Justin R., photographer
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  Modern architectural elements
  • -  prefabricated houses
  • -  modular construction
  • -  modular wall systems
  • -  housing
  • -  housing developments
  • -  plate glass
  • -  overhangs
  • -  naturalistic landscape architecture
  • -  suburbs
  • -  suburbanization
  • -  concrete slabs
  • -  basements
  • -  wood decking
  • -  siding (material)
  • -  domestic life
  • -  Virginia--Fairfax County--Hollin Hills

Latitude / Longitude

  • 38.759213,-77.068051

Notes

  • -  Significance: Built in 1953-54, Hollin Hills Unit House No. 5B represents a later variation on the prototypical designs created by architect Charles Goodman (1906-92) for this innovative mid-century modern subdivision that was touted by many as the most progressive of them. Goodman developed Hollin Hills largely between 1946 and 1956 using standardized plans and prefabricated modular unit construction. The Hollin Hills houses are characterized by geometric forms, exposed structural systems, floor-to-ceiling glass window walls, overhanging eaves, and low-slung rooflines. Unit House No. 5B is distinguished by its innovative structural framing system that was visible from the exterior resulting in its distinctive "frame and infill" design; the walls were framed by structural supports and then infilled with either wood siding or window modules in varying arrangements. As with all the Hollin Hills houses, open-space plans provide a sense of spaciousness within an otherwise limited footprint. Situated in a lush, rolling, and wooded terrain, Goodman worked in concert with nationally known landscape architect Dan Kiley in an effort to blend his house designs with the natural environment. Although only eight basic "unit types" were developed, by changing the orientation to fit the natural topography, and utilizing optional rooms and design features, it is rare that any two houses look exactly alike. In fact, the orientation of the principal social space, the living room, was designed to face onto the front yard of Unit House No. 5B, but the original purchasers, Howard and Adelita Wallace, asked that the house be turned 180 degrees so that the living room looked out onto the wooded landscape to the rear of the house. The change resulted in the placement of the more elaborate "front" entry to the rear; the "main" entrance most used is to the side yard. Unit House No. 5B exhibits the character defining window walls that connect the interior rooms with the out-of-doors while also banking the house into the hillside so that both the main and lower level floors are at grade. Goodman's plans for Hollin Hills began with two unit types, Unit No. 1 and Unit No. 2, followed by a number of variations on Unit No. 2, later followed by Units No. 3 through 8 and their variations. Unit No. 1 is a split level house designed for a sloping terrain, while Unit No. 2 is a rectangular, single-story, slab-on-grade design. The model that appeared most often was Unit House No. 2B42LB which is differentiated from the standard Unit No. 2 house by its enlarged kitchen and bedrooms, and two-story configuration. Unit House No. 5 is distinguished by its single-story height and flat roof with a raised center section that corresponds to the "dropped beams" in the living and dining room, as well as by its "frame and infill" aesthetic. The latter gave rise to numerous variations, such as the Unit House No. 5B, designed to meet the challenges of a hilly terrain by banking the house into the steeply sloping hillside. This particular Unit 5B house is further characterized by an orientation that hides the entrances to the rear and side. It has received few changes; a second bathroom was added, the original bathroom and kitchen updated, and the original glazing was replaced by insulated glass but the framing system was left intact. The basement remains unfinished, used largely for storage. The house is currently owned and occupied by Virginia Wallace, the daughter of the original owners. Charles Goodman was among the most successful practitioners of the Modern Movement in architecture in suburban Washington, DC, with Hollin Hills being his most recognized design project. As such, Hollin Hills was designated as a Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places, in 2013. The residential subdivision currently encompasses 326 acres of picturesque landscape to include irregularly shaped lots and meandering streets that follow the natural contours of the land, with buffers for privacy created by communal parks and woodlands. The houses were built by developer/builder Robert C. Davenport, and landscape architect Lou Bernard Voigt directed the overall site plan. Although House & Home magazine in 1954 touted Unit House No. 5 as "the most advanced builder house in the United States" only five of the Unit 5 and 5A models, eleven of the 5B, and thirteen of the later 5CS were built.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2320
  • -  Survey number: HABS VA-586-C
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1952 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1954 Subsequent Work
  • -  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 13000807

Medium

  • Photo(s): 8
  • Measured Drawing(s): 6
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 1

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS VA-586-C

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • va2314

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

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  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS VA-586-C
  • Access Advisory: ---

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Charles M Goodman, Dan Kiley, Robert C Davenport, Lou B Voigt, House & Home Magazine, Robert R Arzola, et al., Scalera, Justin R, photographer. Hollin Hills, Unit House No. 5B,Glasgow Road, Hollin Hills, Fairfax County, VA. Fairfax County Hollin Hills Virginia, 1933. translateds by Mcpartland, Marymitter, and Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/va2314/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Goodman, C. M., Kiley, D., Davenport, R. C., Voigt, L. B., House & Home Magazine [...] U.S. National Park Service, Y. P., Scalera, J. R., photographer. (1933) Hollin Hills, Unit House No. 5B,Glasgow Road, Hollin Hills, Fairfax County, VA. Fairfax County Hollin Hills Virginia, 1933. McPartland, M. & McPartland, M., transs Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/va2314/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographer by Scalera, Justin R. Hollin Hills, Unit House No. 5B,Glasgow Road, Hollin Hills, Fairfax County, VA. trans by Mcpartland, Marymitter, and Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/va2314/>.