Ideal Fraternity House
 

I was wondering what your ideal fraternity house would look like and include. What type of layout would it possess? Structurally and aestetically as well.

Ideal for me, would be massive in size, all stone, large pillars in the front. Internally, I'd want to have a wing dedicated to living quarters, preferably in suites (2 double bedrooms per shared bathroom), a large dining room with attached commercial kitchen (with a cook), housemother's suite on the first floor with her own bathroom and sitting room. Large common area's for formal meetings or gatherings with alumni/parents - a huge fireplace with a dragon carved into the stone above. A large rec room with pool tables, fooseball tables and some old-school video games. Chapter room, modeled after the ideal chapter room, in the basement. Outdoors would include parking for all brothers, sand volleyball pit, half-court basketball court, large deck/patio for barbeques, and of course a large yard for the ocassional pickup football game. This house would be equiped with state-of-the-art technology, especially in the 20 man computer/library room.

I didn't mention any beerpong tables or bars, as I don't really think they 'belong' in a fraternity house.

Picture our Aubrun house, bred with our Oklahoma house, mixed with a bit of our Purdue house and add a touch of our Illinois and Ohio State house....that's about what it'd look like - then tack on another 10,000 square feet....I'd like to see a 100 man chapter housed.....comfortably.

I like how ZZ put it, but I would definitly have a large bar and party area.

Fraternities are like an old gent's club house. A bar fully stocked, a cigar room, etc.

Oh.... this is such a great question, (and has good answers) but it makes me sad.

We had a GREAT chapter house - or something better. We had conventions there. You could meet PATER KNOX there. You could stay there all summer. You could go fishing. You could sing Beta songs all night.... "with John Reily and the brothers, we had the best place around, till one day lightning zapped it, and burned the place to the ground. Smoke on the water, fire in the sky."

I talked with someone once; his name is in many books, but I must not mention it here; he and I talked about the idea of doing it again... the most I can say at present is that it is not an impossibility. It still is in the thoughts of some Betas, including those of us who have actually been there...

But in reality, the best I can do is build my own fictional one. Though quite excellent, and perhaps even practical, ZZ-kai- omits some things I would include: an observatory, a pipe organ, a rose garden, and also there is NO WAY the chapter room would be "in the basement". Obviously, for security reasons, I am not going to explain where it SHOULD go. But I think you will probably be able to guess what I have in mind. Also, I cannot tell from his specs how big the library would be, but if you were like me, it could not be big enough. (Heh, heh.)

Somebody who is into that kind of drawing/rendering ought to cobble up a video tour someday... I would be interested to see it.

And in the meantime, one of these days maybe I'll get permission to post another of the Omicron Alpha stories (I've seen a sketch or two of the floorplan, but no drawings yet.)

For me, the idea begins with an old house...there's something to be said for some house that has some quirks to it. One of the things I miss most about living in Beta is the fact that no matter the temperature outside, windows were always open. It might be -2 degrees outside, but b/c of the steam heat system in the house, it would just be too hot to not have the window open some (depending on the wind).

Beyond that. A place like KU is a good start. Large with plenty of room to house a large number of guys, but a setup like at Nebraska (my chapter) where guys don't want to leave if they can help it (even though our living unit was dry).

Start with a kitchen that has all the necessary components for a cook to make satisfying meals. Our director of Greek Affairs likes to have tours of Greek Chapter houses done during the noon hour to show the community of a chapter and how it differs from the dorms. The dining room should be large enough to fit plenty of Betas and their guests.

The first floor should continue with both informal and formal living/entertaining rooms. One with a large TV/Stereo system and plenty of seating so that the brothers can gather around a football game or a movie. The more formal living room should also have lots of comfortable seating so that it serves as a gathering place for members while waiting to go out, to the bars, to an intramural game, or pledges waiting for the scholarship chair to take them to the library. The house director's suite would also be on the first floor with plenty of sound proofing on their walls and doors (for their comfort and sleep schedule, especially on those weekend nights when people come back to the house loud and intoxicated).

Also on the first floor, a library or some sort of quiet respite would be great. A place for the chapter to collect books, and perhaps have an impressive trophy case to show off the chapters accomplishments.

The basement should contain plenty of space to study. Division into several rooms is good, so that people can separate out for group projects. A full complement of technology is a must: New, well maintained computers (with appropriate software for a variety of projects that people might have to do), free printing, a copy machine, perhaps a projector.

There should be a separate chapter room that is a scaled up version of the ideal one (Hall of Chapters), b/c that is somewhat cramped. There should be some unique aspects to it (I haven't seen Mizzou's but I've heard about it.) A personal inclusion would be something like the "D.R." that is at Nebraska. I'm pretty sure ZZ-kai- knows what I'm talking about...such a room somewhat precludes the need for the chapter room to be in the basement.
The chapter room should also be a secure place that only initiates can enter too. Something to keep an aura about making that rite of passage.

Living units would be large enough to fit 2-3 guys each, with built in closets and drawers. I prefer the idea of keeping the space open so that each year guys can set up their own room differently. However improvements to the rooms made by the brothers would be encouraged.
I also would have a separate wing for the pledges so that they spend far more time together, increasing their closeness as a class.

For me, the bathrooms would be communal, not shared to two rooms, but one large one for each floor/wing of the house. Without sounding too gay, the bathrooms at Nebraska were sort of the morning meeting place as people prepped for the day and hurried to get to class. Sometimes, if your schedules were particularly packed and different from some one else's then that time in the bathroom might be the only time you see someone who lives next door to you. Plus, for the most part, large community bathrooms tend to have less problems with lines and such waiting for the shower.

In addition to the rooms, I'd have a moderate sized sleeping porch/cold air/open air dorm (whatever you call it at your campus...it's all the same thing). Just have it around for people who might want to use it. But if the rooms are large enough, might not get that many takers. However, there can be uses for it during specific times of the year. (During I-week, our entire pledge class slept together in our OA, but sadly that room was remodeled in to a 4 man bedroom, and that is no longer done).

There is the already mentioned game room that is certainly a must. The final important piece of the house is a great rooftop deck, large enough to host Alumni events and pre-game BBQ's. A great view from this vantage point only enhances the experience. The rest of the year, the deck can serve as a place to study and get some sun during warm weather, or a secretive place to launch snow balls at unsuspecting brothers as they enter the front door. Water Balloon launching at sorority girls as they lay out on their own roof top decks is also a source of much bemusement to the chapter!

More than anything the ideal chapter house should feel like a home, and should be a place that the undergrads take pride in, enjoy living at and will remember fondly. It should be a place where one not only lives, but also is able to achieve. I personally think that for this reason, it must be an alcohol free structure (obviously not free of already imbibed alcohol). So that big bar and party area wouldn't have a place in my ideal chapter house. But I do recognize the impact of campus culture and the type of arms races that take place to keep socially active. So depending on the location I'd be more than happy to include a bar. But it had better be one kick ass bar!

Ahhh, yes, the D.R. - I believe I scribbled my roll number in there....

great question with some equally great replies!

I hope my chapter can one day acquire/build a house... one can hope at least.