Flashback Monday: A Very Modern Major Mid-Century Model

Please to be enjoying these models of some Mid-Century Modern architecture, better known as the Goodman Houses that made up what would become known as Hickory Cluster. Here's the breathtaking marketing copy from back in Reston's Bronze Age:

Charles M. Goodman Associates, A.I.A., is the prominent architect of the First Village hillside cluster. Groups of town- houses have been arranged around intricately paved terraces,which in turn are leveled into a wooded hilltop. The Goodman Houses overlook the Village Center and Lake Anne. Sharp changes in roofline, varying sizes, and contrasting textures accented by vivid colors contribute to a townhouse setting of great beauty. A variety of designs and facilities include 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms, rooftop terraces, balconies, playrooms, private studies, family rooms and recreation rooms. There is underground garage parking or carports for some models, large parking areas for others. Landscaped pedestrian paths, completely free of traffic, lead to shops in the Village Center, schools and recreation facilities. The Goodman Houses are an ideal application of contemporary townhouse design to a naturally wooded site.

Not so sure about the "vivid colors," unless you consider brick and beige vivid, and the underground garage parking didn't work out so well -- it was demolished in the early oughts. But otherwise, Goodman's approach was replicated in many of Reston's later clusters, where the townhouses often were built with the same varied sizes and roofline changes (check out the "skinnies" in Waterview Cluster to see that concept taken to a particularly narrow extreme.) It's also nice to see that these townhouses continue to inspire what might be the most attractive examples of new development proposed for Reston.