In The News!

San Benito C.I.S.D. To Unveil Its "Environmentally Friendly" Angela Gerusa Leal Elementary School Campus On August 22, 2011

July 30, 2011 9:19 PM

By FERNANDO DEL VALLE The Brownsville Herald   (Additional information by MGa.)

SAN BENITO — A new elementary school will teach students a big lesson in going green, school officials said. Next month, the San Benito school district will open the doors of the $7.8 million Angela Gerusa Leal Elementary School, designed by Mata*Garcia Architects LLP, the district’s first step into building an environmentally friendly school, they said.“This is the wave of the future,” Superintendent Antonio Limon said. Solar panels on the roof of the building will generate energy.  “This school will serve as a model for future schools,” Principal Manuel Cruz said.

A $37 million bond issue that passed in 2007 funded construction of the school on FM 732, about three miles north of La Paloma, officials said. The 70,000-square-foot school will relieve overcrowding at La Paloma Elementary School in the district’s fastest growing area, they said. Over the school cafeteria, solar panels will heat water used to cook and wash, Limon said.“Whatever water that we would use electricity to heat will be heated by the use of solar panels,” Limon said. During its 30-year lifetime, the solar panel system will save the district $59,000, Sundance Solar, the company that installed the solar panels, said in a press release.

At the school’s two "Creation Station" project labs, solar tubes will light the rooms, Limon said. The solar lighting devices placed in the labs utilize more natural lighting inside the building, as well as offset some of the artificial lighting loads. Natural lighting is a green requirement as it enhances user comfort and health. These solar tubes can be left open throughout the day, or closed when the space is being used for video presentations. Insulated low-e glass at exterior windows cuts down on direct heat gain through a special coating in the glass.  Additionally, all classroom windows have solar shading devices to cut down on uncomfortable glare.  The large windows at the cafeteria feature pergolas to cut out direct light. 

A metal roof with a reflective exterior finish will help deflect heat from the building cooled by a high efficiency air conditioning system, officials said. The metal roof and walls are of a highly reflective galvalume metal panel which will be very effective in cutting down solar heat gain. Water tanks will catch rainwater that the school will use to irrigate a landscape design native to Texas, they said. “A metal roof will provide for a cooler building inside because it will reflect more sunlight and allow for the collection of rainwater and early morning condensation that will run down the roof and into water cisterns located all around the building to catch the flow of water,” Limon said.  A butterfly garden, just outside the spacious science lab, will enhance lessons learned in the lab. This outdoor classroom will use many of the sustainable features found throughout the campus in a setting students can use.

Addtional sustainable feature of the school are: High Efficiency Lighting - The bulbs for the general lighting throughout the building have been changed from T-8 to T-5.  This is expected to lower the building’s energy consumption between 15% and 20% conservatively.  Linoleum Tac-Wall surfacing: Used in the "Creation Station" labs as well as in the Fine Arts lab, the surfacing allows for greater utilization of vertical areas for displays. This linoleum product is certified green guard as it contributes to improved indoor air quality. Low and Zero VOC paints and coating: VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds which are inherent in most traditional paints and are a major contributor to the condition of the indoor air quality of a building. All plywood casework: Traditional particle board, generally used under plastic laminate because it’s more economical, was not allowed on this project due to VOC content in the binders.  MGa opted to use all plywood casework which contains Zero VOC's and is  more durable.

The school offers its students a lesson in building for the future, Cruz said. “We can use this as a tool to teach students how to be more earth-friendly and in these hard economic times we can all learn how to take steps to save money,” Cruz said.

Housing Authority - County of Hidalgo - Weslaco

Mata*Garcia Architects LLP, announces the completion of the administrative offices for the Housing Authority of the County of Hidalgo. The 10,331 square foot facility contains offices for three housing authority departments, staff support areas and a board room for the authority's public meetings. The facility is located at 1800 North Texas Boulevard, Weslaco, Texas.

Solo Empanadas - El Sabor de Argentina

MGa Recommends: Solo Empanadas - El Sabor de Argentina. Want to taste something different and delicious? Solo Empanadas is the place in McAllen. The restaurant is cozy - three booths and a bar with stools; Argentinian music playing in the background. Autographed jerseys of Messi and Maradona frame the bright orange walls. The Ensalada Gaucha is a salad with lettuce, tomato, avocado, olives, and manchego cheese topped with a tangy vinagrette dressing. Among the empanada fillings our staff  prefers are the rajas con queso empanada (cheese/peppers), a carne saltena (meat & potato), the caprese, humita (corn, onion and cheese) and carne dulce (sweet meat). The chimichurri sauce to dip your empanada is also tasty. Deeeeeeelish! Solo Empanadas is located at 4109 N 10th St., McAllen, TX 78504; T: 956.686.1555.

Angela G. Leal Elementary School * Punch List

Mata*Garcia Architects LLP, CLH Engineering (Structural), The Alex Group (MEP) and AGH Engineering and Surveying (Civil) conducted punch list walk-throughs of the San Benito CISD -  Angela Gerusa Leal Elementary School the week of July 11, 2011.  The following photos are a glimpse of what the students and faculty can expect when they start school August 22nd.  (A future post will have photos of the furnished facility.)

Entrance Lobby - the sun, welcomes students, faculty and visitors to the campus.

Main student corridor - planets and constellations.

Entrance to Neptune Wing - 4th/5th grade classroom wing.

Floor pattern at academic wing.

Science Lab casework.

Typical classroom - teacher work station, cubbyholes.

Ceramic tile patterns at student restrooms.

Main entrance and administration area.

Trellis detail at cafeteria courtyard.

Entrance lobby - south facade.



San Benito Veteran's War Memorial

July 4, 2011 saw the grand opening and dedication ceremony of the San Benito Veteran's War Memorial, a pro-bono project designed by Christopher Collins of Mata*Garcia Architects LLP, Hinojosa Engineering (Structural), Halff Associates (MEP), Guzman & Munoz Engineering and Surveying (Civil) and Cobblestone Engineering (Testing).



(The following information was placed in the dedication program.) Tribute to Our Pro-Bono Heroes: The City of San Benito and the Veteran's Advisory Board gratefully acknowledge the work of the design team that agreed to work pro-bono on this project as in their words, "Our way of giving back to the community of San Benito for our combined 20 years of working together on school and city projects."

Commenting on the journey from inception to completion of the San Benito Veteran's War Memorial, Fernando Mata, AIA, Partner of Mata*Garcia Architects LLP said, "In working closely with the Veteran's Board, we sought to carry-out the board's vision through the use of symbolic references at a location where many began and ended their military journey - the local train station."

"The Veteran's War Memorial acts as an historical touchstone." noted Mata.  "It links the past to the present and enables people to remember and respect the sacrifice of those who died, fought, participated or were affected by conflicts. It will serve as a focal point for remembrance, both individual and collective. We are honored to have been a part of this effort."

Performing the day-to-day detail work on the project was Christopher Collins, an architectural intern who began working at Mata*Garcia Architects LLP in 2000 while working his way through Texas Tech University in Lubbock.  Chris received his Master's of Architecture degree in 2005 and has continued with Mata*Garcia since. "My time on this project was approximately one thousand hours," Collins said, not mentioning a few sleepless nights spend worrying about certain aspects of the project.

"The scope of the project was fairly routine, but it is rare that we get to work on a project that carries as much emotional weight as this one," Collins noted. "The project was guided  primarily by the photos from the old Spanish Revival style train depot. What we designed is an impression recalling the memory of the that time, while remaining true to current buidling techniques."

"All projects evolve from the day ther are conceived to the day they are finally completed. Establishing a vision early on with the Veteran's Advisory Board was easy. However, maintaining that vision and constantly seeking to improve on it, even through construction, was indeed our biggest concern as time and budgetary issues surfaced," stated Collins.

Collins adds, "It has been a great honor to have been involved on this project. As an American, I feel all of us owe a great debt to the men and women who have served in the armed forces. While we can never repay that debt to those who gave their lives for our freedoms, we can all contribute to honoring their sacrifice."

Speaking on behalf of the City of San Benito, Martha McClain  - Community Liason stated the following: "Little did we realize when we first started, the vast amount of effort, skill and fortitude it would take to complete this much-beloved facility. In retrospect, it took great persistence and dedication from those citizens who conceived the idea; to those who promoted the concept; to those who persuaded officials to believe in the idea; to those officials who worked to find funding for its construction; to those who stepped-up and agreed to professionally design the Memorial; to those who will cherish and care for it in the future. This is truly a community-wide project."

Dedication ceremony, July 4, 2011

Christopher Collins addresses the veterans and community of San Benito, Texas.

Scale-model of the original train depot.