[Maryland] Summerfield urban development takes shape

[seicer]

"Summerfield is a new neighborhood proposed for a 934-acre site on Maryland

[tombarnes]

That certainly looks inviting! This is the first I have heaard of this development. Please keep us posted on developments there. I suppose this is on the Pocomoke River?

[TheFutureIsNow]

do people ever get sick of this same stupid colonial design!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its been overused so much in the past couple of years it feels like this whole area is going backwards!!!!! come on people, can't we have a nice dense, inviting urban environment without it looking like 1783! i know that the modernism movement left a pretty wide-ranging architectural scar on america, but you can move forward, still keeping pieces from the past while taking creative chances, because that's what america is supposed to stand for, moving forward! And like it or not, modernism took a chance and although it may not look so good to us now, its the diversity in design from different periods which makes an area so interesting and exciting! "finishes rant"

[tombarnes]

Your point is noted. Designs which use elements from the past are never going to go away. I would be grateful to see more designs which simply used basic elements of scale and proportion to make them more pleasing. I think the basic lesson learned from the Modernist movement is that not everyone wants to live in a glass box. Diversity is important, and so is progress, but there are vast elements of the population that want very little to do with progressive architecture. Better to give them something which is at least visually well organized . Most of the builders today care nothing whatever for any principles of design beyond "lawyer foyers', misshapen Palladian windows and the like. At least the buildings in this project appear to have better design than most. I'd love to see a ban on shutters which don't work. I'm all for modern design, but every development that comes along probably won't be modern- especially around here. It's just a reality right now. I do think that Northern Virginia has shown a marked willingness to explore new territory.