Local Anniversary Getaway

(click to enlarge)

I've mentioned the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC before, and I have visited on a few occassions: once with a class field trip for a tour of the hotel and once for a kick-off meeting of the local USGBC chapter.

My wife and I stayed there this past weekend as a joint Christmas gift from my parents (they kept the kids for us too)/Anniversary getaway (our 10th).

We had a great time; enjoyed the hotel and the food from the whole weekend (Fourth Street Filling Station in Winston-Salem for dinner Friday night, Solaris in Greensboro for a drink and an appetizer Saturday evening, then on to Print Works Bistro for dinner. Brunch Sunday morning at McCoul's.)

I have a few more photos in the Set from the Proximity on my Flickr page--added to the existing set from the class field trip.

Program Status

It has been awhile since I've posted anything here, expecially directly related to the Architectural Technology program (which I am now 3/5ths through).

This summer's classes included a 3-D CAD class which focused on Revit, which is Autodesk's Building Information Modelling software. From Wikipedia:

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle[1] using three-dimensional, real-time, dynamic building modeling software to decrease wasted time and resources in building design and construction.[2] This process produces the building information model (also abbreviated BIM), which encompasses building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, and quantities and properties of building components.

I've got some rendering images from the project for that class on my flickr page in the Schoolwork set.



Over the summer I also had a class in Building Codes, which looked at the International Building Code, the Accessibility Code, as well as at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County's Unified Development Ordinances.

I had the same instructor for a class called Light Construction Technology, which was basically learning how to format basic construction drawings for smaller commercial buildings: stair plans and sections, bathroom plans, overall floorplans, elevations, wall sections... Might sound kind of dry, but it was my favorite class of the summer session.

Also had a class called Environmental Systems for which we made several field trips, most of which were photographed and are documented on my flickr page and have already been noted here on ARKTEK, including a trip to NC's greenest hotel, the Proximity.

Next week my family is on vacation, and the following week fall semester starts. It is my fourth semester of a five semester program, so I am about 60% finished with the "mid-thirties career redirection."

Proximity Hotel

My ARC 230 Environmental Systems class took a field trip over to Greensboro this week to visit the Proximity Hotel, which is expected to be the first LEED Platinum hotel in the country.

It is modelled after typical textile mills found in the area--straightforward rectangular grid with large windows--and named after a specific mill just a mile or two down the road from this site. The bistro nextdoor is named after the Print Works which was situated directly nextdoor to the mill.

Here is a link to the set of pics on my flickr page.

The official Proximity website.