Morgan’s Wonderland Camp serves as a 102-acre recreational getaway for anyone with or without special needs, located in northern San Antonio, Texas. Gordon Hartman is the founder of the world-renowned theme park and other “ultra-accessible”, fully inclusive attractions where “people of all ages and abilities can come together for fun and a better understanding of one another,” according to the camp’s website. Morgan’s Wonderland Camp offers summer-camp-type experiences for up to 500 campers and staff at a time.
“The design goal for Morgan’s Wonderland was to create an enjoyable environment for everyone,” said Robert Luna, President and CEO of Luna Middleman Architects in San Antonio. “We wanted to use products that had varied color options and the durability that stand the test of time.”
Luna said those involved in the design reviewed several manufacturers and found that MBCI had the products, colors and profiles that would work best for the Morgan’s Wonderland Camp project. He said the overall selections, profiles and availability of products for varied uses made the selection of MBCI an easy decision.
MBCI metal roof and wall panels were used in the construction of three of the facility's main buildings, chosen because of the manufacturer’s wide selection of offerings.
Red Dot Buildings of Athens, Texas, a long-time customer of MBCI, constructed the dining hall, arena and maintenance building using a plethora of MBCI products.
For the dining hall, the list of 24-gauge panels includes Ultra-Dek® for the roof in Fern Green (35,958 square feet); Artisan® for the soffit in Fern Green (8,980 square feet) and Desert Sand (2,714 square feet); PBR for the wall panels in Desert Sand (13,410 square feet), Fern Green (241 square feet) and Galvalume Plus® (84 square feet); and PBC for the wall panels in Desert Sand (1,223 square feet) and Galvalume Plus (359 square feet). The arena features 38,694 square feet of 24-gauge PBR roof panels in Galvalume Plus.
“The arena is a really awesome combination building, housing indoor basketball courts on one end with a creative art studio on the opposite side,” said Darrell Geisendorff, Red Dot Buildings Regional Sales Manager, Central & South Texas. “The roof had a few valleys, but nothing difficult for our team to handle. The arena was a very clean traditional pre-engineered arena with over 40 polycarbonate skylight panels within the roof system to provide natural light during the day for the riders below.”
The maintenance building features 26-gauge PBR panels in Charcoal Gray (12,422 square feet) on the roof and in Desert Sand (6,713 square feet) on the walls. “This is a pretty standard and well-functioning metal building with 20 polycarbonate skylights,” Geisendorff said.
The Skylights installed were Acrylit from Glasteel.
“Red Dot and MBCI have a relationship that goes back to the 80s,” Geisendorff said. “Over the years, both companies have grown together in the industry and each knows what the other needs and expects. We think that is why we work so well together; there is no guesswork. It’s a business relationship that takes decades to build and one that Red Dot is proud to have.”
According to the Morgan’s Wonderland Camp website, the inspiration for the camp came from Morgan Hartman, the 28-year-old daughter of Gordon and Maggie Hartman, who has dealt with cognitive and physical special needs since birth. The non-profit camp offers reduced admission fees to those in need and is supported by a large group of corporate sponsors.
Installer/Builder: Red Dot Buildings, Athens, Texas
General Contractor: Stalwart Contracting LLC, San Antonio, Texas
Architect: Luna Middleman Architects, San Antonio, Texas
Completion Date: November 2020