Power Lunch

Enjoying lunch and reviewing last minute project items before leaving on our annual two-week holiday break are (L to R): Fernando Mata, Architect | Partner; Ami Avalos, Intern; Hector Rene Garcia, Architect | Partner; Efrain Martinez, Intern; Audel Gonzalez, IT Department; Antonio Mata, Administrative Assistant; Juan Torres, Intern; Antonio Garces, Intern; Benjamin Pacheco, Intern; Adolfo Vela, Construction Manager and Audrey Tower, Intern.  Not pictured is Rey Zamora, Architect.

Talking Turkey !

 

Breaking bread together before our holiday break, left to right are:  Audrey Tower, Intern; Adolfo Vela, Construction Manager; Ami Avalos, Intern; Efrain Martinez, Intern; Antonio Mata, Administrative Assistant; Fernando Mata, Architect; Audel Gonzalez, IT Department; Juan Torres, Intern; Antonio Garces, Intern; Benjamin Pacheco, Intern and Rey Zamora, Architect.  Behind the camera; Hector Rene Garcia, Architect.

STC - Heath and Science Facility

The South Texas College Facilities Committee has unanimously voted to recommend the approval of the concept presented by Mata+Garcia Architects for the Allied Health & Science Facility at the STC Starr County Campus in Rio Grande City, Texas. The project now proceeds to the Design Development Phase. The 50,000 square foot facility will be built under a Construction Manager-at-Risk contract with D.Wilson Construction Co. of McAllen, Texas. Broaddus Associates is the Project Management firm for all of the STC 2013 Bond Projects.

The facility will be placed on the south end of the campus, following the campus master plan,  in-line with the General Academic Building (E) and directly in front of the new Library, which will also be designed by Mata+Garcia Architects. An existing inter-campus driveway will be removed to create a pedestrian walkway, with the driveway being relocated to the south perimeter of the campus. Parking will be placed to the west, as it will also serve the new Library and the existing Student Services Building and Expansion G) and the Student Activities Building and Expansion (H).

West Facade: The main entry is placed central to the length of the building, with an adjacent mosaic mural celebrating nursing, biology and chemistry accomplishments.  Secondary access points near each end provide direct access to stairwells and student support spaces. Two full-height projections break the plane of the 285 feet long facility with historical detailing taken from the 1884 Nestor Saens building in Roma, Texas and ties this complex with the existing campus theme of combining historical and ranching elements and placing them in a contemporary setting.  The first floor will be sheathed in a combination of brick and painted fiber cement panels, while much of the second floor will be covered in metal panels. Long bands of horizontal windows have been placed in the science labs and classrooms, complimented by seventy skylights that will provide 100% daylighting to the labs and public spaces on the second floor.

The East facade highlights the central location of the Nursing and Science Administration areas. To either side will be 24' tall catchment tanks for rainwater harvesting. Our calculations, based on rainfall in the RGC area the past five years, indicate that the college can collect 285,000 gallons of rainwater per year. (Condensate from the HVAC system will also drain into the tanks.) The board asked that the tanks be screened/protected, to which we are proposing a gabion wall (metal fencing filled with rocks) to keep with the campus theme set in 2003.

South (left) and North (right) facades.

Detail: Main entry; glazed storefront 12 feet high with an adjacent  mosaic mural that will celebrate local accomplishments in the nursing, chemistry and biology fields. The brick projections are highlighted with detailing found on the 1884 Nestor Saens building located in Roma, Texas. Metal panels, painted fiber cement panels, tinted glazing and metal trellises continue the material and color palettes begun in 2003, combining historical and ranching elements and producing a contemporary facility representative of its place and time.

View of the proposed Health & Science facility as students approach from the new Library and Student Services and Activities centers.

The brick detailing of the two projections on the west facade is taken from the historic Nestor Saens building of 1884 located in Roma, Texas. The spaces between the columns will be in-filled with a metal frame lattice that will allow for vines to climbs its eighteen feet and create a living / blooming contrast to the brick, metal and painted fiber cement panels.

Second Floor (top) and First Floor (bottom).

Circulation: (Second Floor - top, First Floor - bottom) Double-loaded corridors connect the main entrance to the central stairwell and elevator as well as the stairwells on either end of the facility. 

Allied Health - First Floor:  The department contains three Skills Labs, three Computer Labs, five Simulation Labs - with support spaces (Control Room, IV Room, Mannequin Maintenance Room, Clean Linens, Dirty Linens and Storage Areas), two Debriefing Rooms, a Video Room, Department Storage, an Administration Area, six Study Rooms, Student Collaboration Areas and Support Space. Specialized laboratories will focus on simulation training with robotic mannequins that replicate all bodily functions, from having a baby to a heart attack or show incidents of diabetes. The goal is for students to have hands-on experience with sessions recorded on video for classroom critiques.

Science (Chemistry and Biology) - Second Floor: Chemistry (Dark Blue) will have two Labs, a Prep Lab/Storage and two Classrooms. Biology (Blue) will contain two Labs, a Prep Lab/Storage and two Classrooms. Shared spaces (Intermediate Blue) will include a Computer Lab, an Information Lab/Open Commons area.  Central to both departments will be the Administration Area (Light Blue).

Support Services (Teal) will be located at both ends of the circulation spine. Each will contain Student Collaboration areas, Stairwells, Restrooms, and Mechanical / Electrical / IDF / MDF / Storage areas.

Vertical Circulation (Orange) will be located centrally and at the perimeter of the facility.                                                                          

The facility is due to be completed in June of 2017.

The project team consisted of:  Rey Zamora, Architect; Chris Collins, Architect; E.J. Melendez, Intern; Juan Torres, Intern, and Hector Rene Garcia, Architect.

South Texas College Student Activities Expansion (2)

The South Texas College Facilities Committee asked that we provide a second scheme for the expansion of the Student Activities Building.. (Original design by Mario Garza, Jr. - Intern-Architect; expansion design by Christopher R. Collins, Architect.)

This scheme of the expansion (yellow) is sited in the same location as the original scheme; to the east of the existing facility, leaving a mesquite and sombrilla-shaded courtyard that will serve as a secondary entrance and an outdoor gathering area.

Existing Student Activities building, main entry (center) and sombrilla shaded courtyard (left). This facility has become a popular hangout for students and the expansion will allow for additional programs to be offered.

South Texas College Student Activities Expansion

The second project being presented to the South Texas College Facilities Committee is the expansion of the Student Activities Building, which we first designed in 2003. (Original design by Mario Garza, Jr. - Inter Architect; expansion design by Christopher R. Collins, Architect and Hector Rene Garcia, Architect. Renderings by intern E.J. Melendez.)

The expansion (yellow) is sited 30' to the east of the existing facility, leaving a mesquite and sombrilla shaded courtyard that will serve as a secondary entrance and an outdoor gathering area.

As designed, the expansion is 4,137 SF, just under the programmed spaces of 4,186SF.

The expansion (yellow) is just east of the existing Student Activities Building with the Student Services (original and expansion) to the west. Careful siting of the facilities has allowed us to save most of the mesquites on the site.

Entrances into the expansion will be off of the main mall, to the north, and directly from the existing facility (via a courtyard) to the west. The Exercise Area (1,986 SF - yellow) is the primary space, with an expanse of windows looking out to the mesquite shaded courtyard and providing direct access to the Locker Rooms (1,090 SF - teal) and Support Spaces (651 SF - orange).

Existing Student Activities building, main entry (center) and sombrilla shaded courtyard (left). This facility has become a popular hangout for students and the expansion will allow for additional programs to be offered.

 North Elevation: View of the expansion (left), courtyard (center) and existing facility (right).

East Elevation

South Elevation: Existing facility (left), courtyard (center) and expansion (right).

West Elevation: Courtyard view into the Exercise Area.

 Southwest view from the General Academic Building towards the Student Activities Building, expansion (left) and existing facility (right).

View of the Student Activities Expansion as seen from the main campus entry driveway.

South Texas College Student Services Expansion

We presented our first project of the 2013 Bond Issue (five buildings total) to the South Texas College Facilities Committee on July 13, 2015; the expansion of the Student Services Building at the Starr County Campus, a facility we first designed 12 years ago (Mario Garza, Jr. originally designed this facility in 2003; expansion team consisted of Audrey Tower, Intern, Christopher R. Collins, Architect and Hector Rene Garcia, Architect). 

An aerial view of the campus, with the existing buildings shown in purple; (the original campus buildings A, B and C; the Manuel Benavides Jr. Rural Technology Building - J; the Workforce Development Building - D; the General Academic Building - E; the Library - F; the Student Activities Building - H; and the Student Services Building - G. The proposed expansion of the Student Services is shown in yellow, just south of the existing building "G". Existing parking lots are on the north and east sides of the property with specific use parking adjacent to the Library and the Student Services building and FM 3167 borders the campus on its western edge. The two maroon shapes are future projects, the new Library and Health/Science building.  The location of a new parking lot is also shown, directly south of the Student Services expansion.

STC Staff cited the need for quick and easy parking for prospective students to come to the campus and begin obtaining information for the next step in their academic careers. The placement of the expansion complies with that requirement, with local building codes and allows for minimal disruption to the existing landscape.

One of the things Mata+Garcia Architects is interested in, as we reference the design, is - historical context, looking at the history of Starr County, looking at things that have defined its context……

…and then using them architecturally in a contemporary setting.

Simple, indigenous building forms are used to reinforce the direct no-nonsense nature of the Student Services Expansion. This is the view as one approaches from the future Library and Health/Science Buildings.  Staff asked that the new entry (left) be as transparent as possible, with floor to ceiling windows creating a view of the excitement within.

The glazing is shaded with a network of wood trellis members that recall the “Sombrillas” used on local ranches and supported by dynamic V-shaped structural steel supports, a variation of the “Chape” supports used on the original facility. The simple brick detailing is taken from the historical Jose Ramirez house in Rio Grande City.  This is the view as one drives north on FM 3167.

Built to a human scale with simple materials, the project is well suited to its location.

South Elevation: Continuing the palette used in the existing facility, the envelope is covered with a combination of brick (using detailing that recalls the historical buildings in the county), stucco (used in the simple vernacular of the area) and corrugated metal panels (used on utility structures throughout in the ranches of the county). 

East Elevation:  The east elevation is seamlessly tied-in to the existing building, through the use of steel grate canopies (which reference local ranches and the mirror those on the Student Activities Building), courtyards and existing landscaping; resulting in a natural progression and integrated design that defies the common excuse that “it’s just an addition.” The intent is to have the landscape surround the building in an informal placement, offering a sense of surprise, peaceful courtyards that capture the senses, and shady places for students to relax or faculty to unwind.

West Elevation:  The west elevation faces FM 3167 and serves as a secondary courtyard entry for those parking on the west lot.

North Elevation: On the north elevation we have mirrored the Tuscan Red stucco found on the existing building to create a vibrant outdoor space shaded by mesquites that blanket the area.

The program calls for 4,000 SF for the two departments (Admissions & Financial Aid), with 1,736 SF in Support Space for a total of 5,736 SF. The project is under the programmed square footage by 32 SF.

As students arrive they will enter the facility on the south side, where they will immediately be greeted & receive information at the circulation desk. The open space to the left is the Student Enrollment Center. Just beyond are a waiting area and the Admissions Office – with space for three counselors, a Storage Room and a Work Room.  Across the aisle, an Orientation Center, with a seating capacity of 40 students, is designed to work jointly with the Welcome Center as one space, or as a separate room.  The goal is to foster collaboration and the exchange of ideas as students move throughout the combined spaces.

The Financial Aid Office will house an Application Area with 10 stations, two Counseling Offices and a quiet area for students who are military veterans to gather.  Support areas (mechanical/electrical) are placed along the east perimeter walls or in strategic areas (restrooms).  A secondary entry point allows for easy access to and from the west parking lot.  This courtyard entry allows for a display area, views to a second courtyard, space for vending machines and access to either the existing facility or the expansion area.

Together with the South Texas College staff, Mata+Garcia Architects has created an efficient, functional and timeless design that reinforces the existing campus fabric.

Addendum of 07.18.15:

After our presentation we were asked to make minor adjustments to the layout of the floor plan; relocating the Veterans Room to an area in the existing building, thus increasing the space for the Financial Aid Office and the Orientation/Multi-purpose space.  This drawing shows the Orientation area as one single space accommodating 40 students.

This drawing shows the Orientation area as two spaces, each one accommodating 20 students.