House colors are neutral and subdued, with lots of beige and gray. The basic building block in Columbia is the neighborhood. Each has a focal point like a school, playground or building. Groups of neighborhoods cluster around a village center. The pattern is replicated nine times across Columbia.
Village centers have their own stores and school.
There are 14 elementary schools, five middle schools, eight high schools. Some village centers also offer an ice rink. Or a bowling center. Or an athletic club, a concert pavilion, Nautilus center, tennis club, interfaith center or art gallery. Roughly in the middle is Columbia Town Center, with its big Columbia Mall, about a dozen office buildings, a lake, a Sheraton hotel, a couple of restaurants and a movie theater, and now condos.