This is going to be really interesting....

image via Joel Kelly's facebook page


I found out that the architect for the new house next door to me is Joel Kelly (it wasn't very hard - he put up a sign). He trained at Georgia Tech, graduating in 1991 and then went on to Princeton for his masters degree in architecture. He is well known in Atlanta for his work in the loft community. He also does interior design as well as architecture. Joel Kelly's work has been published in Veranda, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, and Home and Garden. I found a few renderings of the future new house next door on his Facebook page. It looks like this will be a fun project to watch take shape next door.

In the above image my house is the large grey blob in the background.


images above and below via JK's Facebook page

Again, I'm the big blob on the right.



Okay, so here's the deal with this house. There was a small bungalow on it until June 2009. The new owner tore it down with the intention to build a house similar to mine and the one South of mine. But that is not buildable in the new ordinance put in place by the City Council and authored by Mary Norwood. So the new owner and his architect had to get creative because of the way the lot slopes away and because of a tree that falls on the property line of the neighbor on the north side of the lot.

The garage is in front to deal with the fact that there really is not room for a driveway given the tree's root system - there is a courtyard around the tree save area in the renderings. You can see the large tree in the drawings. There is a long breezeway to get back from the garage to the main living area of the house in the back. The three story structure in the back is the part that will be next to my kitchen. This is really not a large house, despite the way it looks. The front structure is mostly garage, with a master under it and the second structure is one big room on the main level (with 18' ceilings - loft like), with the possibility of two additional bedrooms on the ground/courtyard level. That area will be unfinished upon move in according to the plans. Roughly 3600 square feet overall.

From the renderings, it appears that this is a very creative way to handle a difficult situation. Good job Mr. Kelly! I'll keep you all posted on the progress as it moves along.






Check out Joel Kelly's website and facebook page for more info.