United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, Military chapel at United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, USA
The United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel is a modern building featuring 17 aluminum and steel spires that rise 46 meters into the sky, forming a series of repeating triangular shapes. The structure measures about 85 meters in length and combines steel, aluminum, concrete, and colored glass to create its distinctive profile.
The chapel was designed by architect Walter Netsch and completed in 1962, receiving designation as a National Historic Landmark in 2004. The building was created as a symbol of postwar modernist architecture and the values of the Air Force Academy.
The building contains separate worship spaces for Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist faiths, each with its own entrance to the structure. This spatial arrangement reflects the Academy's commitment to welcoming people of all religious backgrounds to practice their beliefs.
Visitors can explore the chapel through guided tours that explain the architectural elements and provide information about the various worship spaces. It's helpful to check in advance whether the chapel is open to visitors, since it sits on Academy grounds and may occasionally be closed.
The structure contains 100 identical steel tetrahedrons, each measuring about 23 meters and weighing 5 tons, with colored glass assembled between them. These geometric elements are so precisely fitted together that they create the chapel's distinctive faceted appearance, which gleams differently depending on the sunlight.
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