March 3, 2011 Charles Goodman, Rock Creek Woods

‘Anatomy of a Neighborhood’: Rock Creek Woods

Can architecture create community? Mariann Seriff, a long-time creative director who is currently pursuing a master’s in integrated design,  sought to answer that question in a two-part radio piece examining her own neighborhood: Charles Goodman’s Rock Creek Woods in Silver Spring.  “The mid-century modern architecture of Rock Creek Woods plays a vital role in making it a thriving neighborhood,” says Seriff, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2001. “When architect Charles Goodman designed the homes in the 1950s, he had no way of knowing they would attract an eclectic group of individuals who would form a vibrant community that is still flourishing today.” Rock Creek Woods is a small, self-contained neighborhood with 74 homes and has only one road in and out, creating a secluded haven of modernist homes. The neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Listen to Seriff “Anatomy of a Neighborhood” Part I, which focuses on the architecture ( I’m interviewed for this piece), and Part II, which focuses on the real sense of community created during the past 50 years.