The Cadet area is located approximately four miles west of the Academy's north US entrance. The architectural team designed the academic complex with extraordinary care for the daily life of the cadet. Another theme used by SOM was to visually reduce the mass of the buildings and the monumentality of the Cadet area.
The Cadet Area's system of paths, walkways, roads and parking contribute to the designed landscape of the site. The retaining walls are an essential feature of the cadet area, creating the monumentality necessary for its reputation as the "new Acropolis". The site required extensive preparation, which included the construction of a series of retaining walls clad in gray granite slabs to create artificial terraces on the ridge of the mesa. Slender columns or piles at terrazzo level support the upper floors of the building.
The third floor, which opens onto a terrace, is also the entry level for the library at the north end of the building. To the west of the staircase on the main floor, the wall is covered with golden Venetian glass.
Mitchell Hall, or Dining Hall (1958), Base #2350
The library blocked the view from Terrazzo to the rolling hills and plains to the east. In 1965, the classroom part of the building was extended to the south using drawings by the architectural firm Leo A. The mezzanine consists of polished white terrazzo squares, outlined by narrow aluminum bands, following the grid pattern of the main floor.
In the center of the mezzanine, a vestibule with windows facing the terrace extends towards the north wall. On the north side of the service floor, under the terrazzo, is a dining/banquet area that can be used for smaller events and more formal dining. An alternate exit/entrance leads from the service floor to the Terrazza, west of the main entrance.
To accommodate more than 4,000 cadets, Mitchell Hall was expanded on the east and west sides in 1966 based on designs by Leo A. However, the changes were completed within the period of significance and do not alter the overall integrity of the resource.
Sijan Hall, or Cadet Quarters (1968), Base #2348
The result interrupted the open interior space with supporting pillars and blocked the open view towards the mountains. The white floor is periodically interrupted by a black tile in an empty square pattern, filled with tile in a class color of red, blue, or yellow (gold). The walls are painted white, except for special images that the cadets have painted of squadrons or other themes related to the Academy.
Previously, the original metal furniture had been replaced with wooden furniture, and it is now being replaced with metal furniture that is more reminiscent of the original design.
Arnold Hall, or Cadet Social Hall (1959), Base #2302
In 1966, an expansion of the hall led to the enclosure of the courtyard between the hall and the ballroom and the construction of a cafeteria lounge.
Harmon Hall, or Administration Building (1959), Base #2304
The room also features two self-supporting spiral staircases; these are crucial architectural features in this space. The main entrance to the block is located on the west side and consists of a glass wall with double glass doors. This block of office suites continues the asymmetrical design of the exterior and is aligned with the non-central main entrance and exterior balcony.
Chapel (1963), Base #2306
It is surrounded by a vertical grill with insets of clear glass that opens to the lobby.
Planetarium (1959), Base #2120
Physical Education Building (1962), Base #2170
Aerospace Laboratory (1959), Base #2410
Consolidated Education Training Facility (1997), Base #2355
Robert Bruegmann, Modernism at Mid-Century: The Architecture of the United States Air Force Academy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Tennis Courts (1959)
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The new service required an influx of officers, leading to the creation of the United States Air Force Academy. In addition, it helped define the Air Force's identity as distinct from the Army and Navy. In this context, the Air Force Academy, Cadet Area is of national importance according to NHL criterion 1.8.
Air Force Academy.” The answers contain many of the important issues surrounding architecture in the postwar era. The chapel is significant for its role in the education of the United States Air Force Academy cadet. The key condition for the establishment of the United States Air Force Academy came on July 26, 1947, when President Harry S.
Shiner, "The Coming of the GHQ Air Force in Winged Shield, Winged Sword: A History of the United States Air Force, vol. Fellerman, Quest for an Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs: United States Air Force Academy, 1974) and Lt. Symington recommended that the Air Force draw a third of its officer corps from the U.S.
Miller Jr., "Founding of the Air Force Academy: An Administrative and Legislative History" (PhD diss., University of Denver. The final bill left the selection of the academy site to an advisory committee appointed by the Secretary of the Air Force. United States Air Force The Academy was important as a major source of the officers needed to fill.
Although it was the newest service, the Air Force emerged as the most important military arm during the first decade of the Cold War. 5337 To provide for the establishment of a United States Air Force Academy, 83rd Cong., 2nd Session. The Air Force needed not only more officers, but also better trained leaders to keep pace with the changing nature of the military in the early Cold War.
Fifty years separated the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk and the founding of the United States Air Force Academy. As Secretary of the Air Force Talbott told a congressional hearing, “We want the academy to make a living.
Significance as Federally Commissioned Modern Architecture
MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
The United States Air Force Academy: A Case Study of Rhetoric and Reality in the Making of Modernism.” PhD diss., University of New Mexico, 1999. A historical study of the development of the academic curriculum at the United States Air Force Academy. " PhD diss., University of Denver, 1965. Note the open slope on the edge of the Terrazzo, filled by Sijan Hall in 1968.
Cadet Room, Vandenberg Hall (#2360), reproductions of original Walter Dorwin Teague Associates furniture, view to SW (chapel seen through window.). 102 Walter Netsch Jr., project director of design for SOM, referred to the cadet area as "the academy proper," a term also used by the "United States Air Force Academy," Architectural Record 117 (July 1955).
GEOGRAPHICAL DATA
