TA24-J F-Pages - Flipbook - Page 15
Of Note
PHOTO BY DAVID PIKE
While operating out of a temporary facility
in Uvalde in the months after the shooting, CBC
sta昀昀 discovered new challenges that needed to be
tackled. Following the shooting, some clients were
alarmed by the sound of a door opening elsewhere
in the building. To address this concern, the new
center was designed to provide greater acoustic
separation between rooms. Others became anxious when someone walked by a window, so the
new center installed all bullet-proof glazing. “The
center wanted to ensure that clients felt safe and
secure at all times so they could refocus their attention on the work required to heal,” says Machado.
As construction began, the CBC received an
outpouring of support. “Everyone wanted to help,”
says Hector Machado. “A variety of types of donations, such as material, labor, and services, came
together to make this project happen.” Many of
these donations were unanticipated and required
the project team to be adaptable to leverage all
that this community was willing to give. Card notes
that while managing a tight schedule that required
a fair amount of improvisation, “Ford, Powell &
Carson was able to deliver a building from concept
through construction that closely aligns with the
CBC’s brand, image, and values.”
On opening day, the CBC, the project team,
and the community had many reasons to be hopeful. The new center has the potential to catalyze
the healing process for many struggling children and families. Since opening day, the CBC
has served more than 300 children, parents, and
teachers with counseling, support groups, and grief
camps. “The CBC has been very well received and
greatly appreciated,” says Machado. In committing
to building a brick-and-mortar center in Uvalde,
the CBC has made a long-term commitment to
helping these children and families manage both
short and long-term challenges associated with
grief and trauma.
Re昀氀ecting on the project, Card shares: “It has
been a real privilege to be able to contribute our
skills as architects to serve. Projects like these are
an important reminder that the work we do as
architects really matters and can impact people
in a profound way.” Machado adds, “We can only
hope that our small contributions to this project
will create momentum leading to enormous positive impact for Uvalde.”
Allison Peitz, AIA, is an architect at Lake|Flato Architects
in San Antonio.
AIA-LRGV Chapter Conference Tours “Main Street of
the Valley”: Buildings and Landscapes of Business
Highway 83
by Stephen Fox
La Lomita Chapel, La Lomita Historical Park, Mission, 1899, restoration 2008, Kell Muñoz Architects
Participants in the 30th annual Building Communities Conference and Trade Show, organized by the
American Institute of Architects Lower Rio Grande
Valley Chapter, began their two-day meeting at
South Padre Island with a pre-conference tour. The
tour focused on landscapes and buildings along
a 50-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 83 Business
between the cities of Mission and Harlingen. Conference chair Sergio Láinez, AIA, chapter executive
director Maria Sustaeta, and chapter president Jesse
Miller, AIA, planned the tour of seven sites.
Harlingen’s newspaper, the Valley Morning Star,
popularized the phrase “Main Street of the Valley”
for U.S. Highway 83 Business in 1929-30, re昀氀ecting
the e昀昀ort to link towns in Texas’ two southernmost
counties, Hidalgo and Cameron, with a continuous
paved highway. Highway 83 connected adjacent
communities founded in the early 20th century
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