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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!
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