United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel

United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel
The Cadet Chapel
General information
Type	Chapel
Architectural style	Brutalist
Location	U.S. Air Force Academy, near Colorado Springs, CO
Construction started	1959
Completed	1962
Height	150 feet (46 m)
Technical details
Floor count	2 floors
Design and construction
Architect	Walter Netsch, Jr., Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Main contractor	Robert E. McKee, Inc.
Awards and prizes	AIA National Twenty-five Year Award U.S. National Historic Landmark, 2004
United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
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Location	United States Air Force Academy
Built	1962
Architectural style	Modern Movement
Part of	United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Area
NRHP Reference #	04000484
Added to NRHP	April 1, 2004

AIA National Twenty-five Year Award
U.S. National Historic Landmark, 2004

The United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, completed in 1962, is the distinguishing feature of the Cadet Area at the United States Air Force Academy north of Colorado Springs. It was designed by Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago. Construction was accomplished by Robert E. McKee, Inc., of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Originally controversial in its design, the Cadet Chapel has become a classic and highly regarded example of modernist architecture. The Cadet Chapel was awarded the American Institute of Architects' National Twenty-five Year Award in 1996 and, as part of the Cadet Area, was named a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2004.

The most striking aspect of the Chapel is its row of seventeen spires. The original design called for nineteen spires, but this number was reduced due to budget issues. The structure is a tubular steel frame of 100 identical tetrahedrons, each 75 feet (23 m) long, weighing five tons, and enclosed with aluminum panels. The panels were fabricated in Missouri and shipped by rail to the site. The tetrahedrons are spaced a foot apart, creating gaps in the framework that are filled with 1-inch-thick (25 mm) colored glass. The tetrahedrons comprising the spires are filled by triangular aluminum panels, while the tetrahedrons between the spires are filled with a mosaic of colored glass in aluminum frame.

The Cadet Chapel itself is 150 feet (46 m) high, 280 feet (85 m) long, and 84 feet (26 m) wide. The front façade, on the south, has a wide granite stairway with steel railings capped by aluminum handrails leading up one story to a landing. At the landing is a band of gold anodized aluminum doors, and gold anodized aluminum sheets apparently covering original windows.