CCLD United States Air Force Academy, US campus architecture design, US architects
CCLD Colorado : US Air Force Academy Building
Colorado Springs Building design by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), USA
Oct 18, 2012
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
image © SOM
The Center for Character and Leadership Development – United States Air Force Academy
U.S. Air Force Academy’s center for character and leadership development, designed by SOM, breaks ground
Colorado Springs, CO – The Center for Character and Leadership Development (CCLD), a new building on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy, will break ground this week. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), the CCLD is the first new building since 1981 to be erected on the terrazzo (the central square) of Air Force Academy’s campus, which was designed by SOM in 1954 and designated a National Historic Landmark District in 2004. Construction on the CCLD will be complete in early summer 2014.
“The CCLD asserts itself as a 21st-century campus icon, while also deferring to the discipline and rigor of the Academy’s original plan,” states Roger Duffy, FAIA, Design Partner at SOM. “We’re excited to be revisiting our work on this significant 20thcentury landmark and contributing to its enduring position in the canon of American architecture.”
pictures © SOM
The 46,000-square-foot building lies on a critical meeting point between secure cadet precincts and portions of the campus open to the public. Sited among existing buildings, including Arnold Hall and the Court of Honor, the CCLD acts as a nexus, weaving together spaces dedicated to cadets, professors, visiting VIPs and the public.
It contains the Forum, a flexible gathering space for academic and social interaction; a series of break-out, conference, and seminar rooms; offices; library; ceremonial stair; and the Honor Board Room, where potential violations of the Cadet Honor Code are investigated. The CCLD has several distinct entrances, each identifiable by a threshold of glass and light.
The CCLD is in optical alignment with the North Star – Polaris – which the Air Force Academy uses to symbolize its core values. SOM collaborated with an astronomer, Dr. Devin Della-Rose, to ensure Polaris would always be due north of the building at 39° altitude. A cadet seated inside the Honor Board Room will be precisely aligned with Polaris through an opening in the ceiling and the oculus at the top of the 105-foot-tall skylight, regardless of the season or time of day.
pictures © SOM
Among the CCLD’s goals is leadership in sustainability. As a demonstration of that ambition, the building anticipates LEED Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. SOM has approached sustainability through the lens of integrated building systems that influence all parts of the building’s design, construction, and operation.
The use of natural ventilation in the skylight, radiant heating and cooling, photovoltaic panels, natural lighting and occupancy sensors help reduce the building’s annual energy consumption by nearly 70% over a code-compliant ASHRAE 90.1-2004 baseline model.
“In 2008, the US Air Force Academy embarked on a bold initiative: develop an iconic architectural concept to symbolically state our commitment to character and leadership development,” states Duane Boyle, RA, LEED AP, Deputy Director, Directorate of Installations of the US Air Force Academy. “Polaris has long been a navigation tool used to guide the traveler. Likewise, it symbolically relates to one’s own ethical and moral journey through life.
SOM’s steel and glass tower aligns with Polaris sending a powerful message to all that leadership and character development are paramount in all that we do. The transparency of the architecture is indicative of the serious nature of its function: the free exchange of thoughts, opinions, and knowledge in an open environment. Our new Center places the Academy at the pinnacle of character and leadership development nationally and will spark the interest of all who believe that our nation’s future is based on thoughtful, careful, and meaningful decisions of our leadership, both military and civilian.”
About Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) is one of the leading architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban-planning firms in the world, with a 75-year reputation for design excellence and a portfolio that includes some of the most important architectural accomplishments of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since its inception, SOM has been a leader in the research and development of specialized technologies, new processes and innovative ideas, many of which have had a palpable and lasting impact on the design profession and the physical environment.
The firm’s longstanding leadership in design and building technology has been honored with more than 1,600 awards for quality, innovation, and management. The American Institute of Architects has recognized SOM twice with its highest honor, the Architecture Firm Award—in 1962 and again in 1996. The firm maintains offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Abu Dhabi.
CCLD US Air Force Academy images / information from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) Architects
Location: Colorado Springs, USA
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