United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel

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Exterior view
Interior of the Protestant Chapel
Detail view of the roof

The United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel is a sacred building on the cadet grounds of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs , which was built between 1959 and 1963. The modern building , like the entire Kadetten site, was built according to plans by the architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill . The construction was made out of the desire to be able to provide prayer rooms to all officer students of different faiths on the Air Force Academy campus. USAFA calls the Cadet Band the most-visited man-made tourist attraction in the state of Colorado .

architecture

The most striking feature of the building is the roof-only construction with its 17 spikes and a height of 46 meters. The basic construction consists of a steel frame, which was clad with aluminum elements from the production of Kaiser Aluminum . Between the aluminum cladding, glass surfaces allow natural light to enter the Protestant chapel on the upper floor of the building. This Protestant part of the building offers space for around 900 believers and thus takes up the largest space within the building. On the lower level there is a Roman Catholic chapel and a Jewish prayer room with a capacity of 500 and 100 people respectively. Although the chapels and the prayer room for the various religious communities are under one roof, they each have their own entrances. Smaller prayer rooms have been set up for Muslims and Buddhists, among others.

According to USAFA, the Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel is open to graduates of the five US military academies ( USMA , USNA , USAFA , USCGA and USMMA ), other active members of the US Air Force stationed in the vicinity, members of active USAFA -Personal and military personnel who have been awarded the Silver Star , the Purple Heart or higher awards, as well as relatives of fallen soldiers, are available for wedding celebrations .

Awards

The extraordinary architecture of the Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel has been recognized with several awards. These include:

  • The RS Reynolds Memorial Award, 1964
  • Silver Medal of Honor: Design and Craftsmanship, 1965
  • Twenty-five Year Award , 1996

In 2004, the entire USAFA cadet compound, which includes the chapel, was added to the list of National Historic Landmarks in Colorado .

Web links

Commons : United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b USAFA: Cadet chapel , accessed May 16, 2019
  2. ^ Kaiser Aluminum: Our History / 1959 - On a Wing and a Prayer , accessed on May 16, 2019
  3. ↑ a b SOM: US AIR FORCE ACADEMY - CADET CHAPEL , accessed on May 16, 2019

Coordinates: 39 ° 0 ′ 29.9 ″  N , 104 ° 53 ′ 24 ″  W.