United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Area
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United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Area
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Cadet Chapel
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| Nearest city | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
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| Coordinates | 39°00′30″N 104°53′25.5″W / 39.00833°N 104.890417°WCoordinates: 39°00′30″N 104°53′25.5″W / 39.00833°N 104.890417°W |
| Built | 1958 |
| Architect | Walter Netsch, Jr. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill |
| Architectural style | Modern |
| NRHP Reference # | 04000484 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 1, 2004 |
| Designated NHL | April 1, 2004 |
The United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Area is a portion of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its use of modern architecture stands in contrast with the very traditional designs of West Point and the United States Naval Academy. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2004.
The buildings in the Cadet Area were designed in a distinct, modernist style, and make extensive use of aluminum on building exteriors, suggesting the outer skin of aircraft or spacecraft.
The main buildings in the Cadet Area are set around a large, square pavilion known as The Terrazzo. The name comes from the fact that the walkways are made of terrazzo tiles, set among a checkerboard of marble strips. The east quarter of the Terrazzo, known as the "Air Gardens," is a 700-foot-long (210 m) space with an ordered geometry of lighted pools, lowered grass sections and maze-like walkways. The Terrazzo area was designed by landscape architect Dan Kiley. The center of the Cadet Area was originally a wooded, sloping hill that extended from the middle of the Terrazzo south to the valley below, creating a blend of natural and man-made environments. With the building of Sijan Hall on the south side of the Terrazzo in 1968, the Terrazzo area was effectively enclosed into a large quadrangle, and this natural part of the landscape was eliminated. Only the top of the hill, now known as "Spirit Hill", remains in the central grassy area of the Terrazzo.
The most recognizable building in the Cadet Area is the 17-spired Cadet Chapel. The subject of controversy when it was first built, it is now considered among the most beautiful examples of modern American academic architecture. The structure consists of 100 identical aluminum tetrahedrons, with colored glass in the spaces between the tetrahedrons. The chapel reaches a height of 150 feet, with an overall length of 280 feet and a width of 84 feet. Architect Walter Netsch said he was inspired in his design by the Sainte-Chapelle cathedral in Paris, the Cathedral of Chartres and the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi in Italy. The Cadet Chapel is built on two levels. The upstairs portion houses a 1,300-seat multi-denomination Protestant chapel; downstairs are a 500-seat Catholic chapel, a 100-seat Jewish chapel and interfaith rooms used for services of other religions.
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