Tuesday, May 13, 2008

President Kelly's new digs

Here's a first look at what the new University of North Dakota President's House will look like when completed later this year. UND's new President, Robert Kelly, and his wife will be the home's first inhabitants. The new house is being built on roughly the same spot as the old presidential house. A new Alumni Center will be built adjacent to the house in the near future.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

So that's where my miscellaneous $25 student fee went to. Multiply that by 12,000 students and that’s a good $300,000. I should own part of that house.

Anonymous said...

What's with the huge and totally unattractive UND logo in the hardwood floor? As if Kelly or any guest to his home would forget where they were at that particular moment in time?

GrandForksGuy said...

"So that's where my miscellaneous $25 student fee went to. Multiply that by 12,000 students and that’s a good $300,000. I should own part of that house."

Actually, the home is being built by the UND Alumni Foundation through a private donation from the Marcil (Forum Communications) family. Your student fees are not going towards the construction costs in any way.

"What's with the huge and totally unattractive UND logo in the hardwood floor? As if Kelly or any guest to his home would forget where they were at that particular moment in time?"

Looks like a rug to me. Keep in mind that many of the interior finishes in the image are merely examples and likely will be different when the home is complete. That rug is a little tacky looking.

dale said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Coffee Guy said...

They could design a new house to look like anything, and they make three garage doors the focal point. Talk about no curb appeal.

Lynsey said...

I'm not sure that logo is a rug. If you look at the image carefully, you should see a white streak across the floor that represents light reflecting off the shiny hardwood floor. Sunlight doesn't look shiny like that on a regular carpet.

However, it looks like a carpet on one edge, but not the other. I think all in all, it's just a poor mock up of what should hopefully be a very nicely decorated completed home.

Anonymous said...

All due respect lynsey, but I can take a picture of my carpeted living room for you any sunny day of the week, and show you how 'shiny' sunlight looks on a carpet, especially a white carpet.

It's clearly intended to be a rug, and software rendering isn't perfect. anyway. This is one of the most realistic mock-ups I have seen.

Anonymous said...

What do you need curb appeal for a house with no curb? It sits behind some trees by the coulee. It's not like anyone is going to drive by. They tried to blend the house in with some of the newer architecture on campus.

Coffee Guy said...

What do you need curb appeal for a house with no curb? It sits behind some trees by the coulee. It's not like anyone is going to drive by.

Then why the arched brickwork? Why the fancy columns? Why the stepped roofline?

I'll answer that for you. It's because presidents' houses are traditionally showcases for universities, and the architects must've known that.

Besides, you couldn't see the old house from the Chester Fritz entrance? I sure could.

Anonymous said...

Let us just hope he is better then the last one!!!

http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=76460

Anonymous said...

I share the point about the 3-car garage. It should be tucked behind the house in some manner. One would think that designers would have more imagination and come up with something more than a typical suburban tract home. I guess the days of Frank Lloyd Wright are long gone.

Anonymous said...

It was probably somewhat difficult to tuck the garage has some of you had hoped due to the location of the coulee and some of the trees that I'm sure they did not want to tear down.

Coffee Guy said...

See where the garage is, and where the people are standing? Make that the house area, and move the garage to where the house currently is, which will make it tucked away behind the larger facade.

If privacy is the reason for having the garage up front, plant some large evergreens instead.

Anonymous said...

President Chapman's house at NDSU will look better than that.

Anonymous said...

The garage doors ARE in the back. If you look at the images, the second one is the front of the house. The garage is tucked in the back.

I think it's awesome, and will fit the rest of the buildings on campus beautifully. Fortunately for all of you who don't like it, you won't be living there.

Anonymous said...

it's not a rug it's glass over rocks they used white rocks and put them around the und loga then put glass over top

Coffee Guy said...

If the garage doors are indeed in the back, then I rescind my complaint.

However, my "garage in front" disdain is still fed by 1/2 of the new homes built these days, especially when side or back entrances can be planned.

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean by being wary, CG. I mean, we all saw the design of the old house.

GrandForksGuy said...

I changed the order of the pics so the front of the house is shown before the back of the house.

Anonymous said...

Well the new president seems to like it along with the Alumni Association. I think that the architects did a wonderful job and I'm pretty sure they don't criticize all of your work, so maybe you can stop criticizing theirs...

Anonymous said...

Wish I had a house like that!