FOLDED PLATES

HARSHI GARG
4B
 CASESTUDY:AIR FORCEACADEMY CHAPEL,USA:

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.
INTRODUCTION

General information
Type Chapel
Architectural style Mid-century modern
Location U.S. Air Force Academy,
near Colorado Springs, CO
Construction started 1959
Completed 1962
Height 150 feet (46 m)
Design and construction
Architect Walter Netsch, Jr.,
Skidmore, Owings and
Merrill
Main contractor Robert E. McKee, Inc.
LOCATION
The Chapel of the United
States Air Force Academy is
a religious building
completed in 1962 in the
area of cadets, north of
Colorado Springs, in the
area known as El Paso
County
area, Colorado, United
States.
Stacked the spaces on two main levels.
• The Protestant nave is located on the upper level

Protestant Chapel
located on the main floor, and is designed to seat 1,200 individuals.
The nave measures 64 by 168 feet (51 m), reaching up to 94 feet (29 m) at the
highest peak
The main floor of the Protestant chapel, on the top floor, is enclosed by the
extruded aluminum coated tetrahedra separated by continuous panels of
colored glass and special laminated glass windows.
• The Catholic and Jewish chapels and a Buddhist room are located
beneath it. one another.

Catholic Chapel
The Catholic Chapel is located below the Protestant Chapel, and seats
approximately 500 people. The nave is 56 feet (17 m) wide, 113 feet (34 m) long and
19 feet (5.8 m) high.
The terraced level of the Catholic chapel on the ground floor, is
characterized by the prefabricated masonry forming the pattern of the
roof, sidewalls with amber glass windows and rows of faceted crystals.
• Beneath this level is a larger room used for Islamic services and two
meeting rooms.

Jewish Chapel

The Jewish Chapel is also on the lower level. Seating 100, it is circular, with a
diameter of 42 feet (13 m) and a height of 19 feet (5.8 m). It is enclosed by a
vertical grill with inserts of clear glass opening to the foyer.
Buddhist Chapel

The Buddhist Chapel is a freestanding

hall within the Cadet Chapel, donated in
2007. It measures 300 square feet and
welcomes Buddhists of all
denominations. The altar has
a Burmese statue of the Buddha and
near the entry is a figure
of Avalokiteśvara.
The building has a surprising succession of 17 needles of glass and aluminum,
each composed of 100 tetrahedra, involving the whole deck.

Continuous panels of bright colored glass tubular dress tetrahedra, allowing

diffused light into the building.
The front facade on the south side, has a wide granite staircase with steel
railings topped by a handrail aluminum leading to a esplanade which
highlights the band aluminum doors gold anodized aluminum sheets also
anodized gold, apparently covering the original windows.
The building that houses the chapels rises 46m, has a length of 85m and a
width of 26m.
The most striking aspect of the chapel is its row of seventeen towers. In the
original design nineteen needles were contemplated, but this number was
reduced due to budget problems.
The structure is a tubular steel frame consisting of 100 identical tetrahedrons,
each 23m long and weighing 5 tn, coated aluminum panels. Tetrahedrons 0.30cm
are spaced from one another, creating holes in the frame are filled with stained
glass 25mm thick.
Tetrahedra that make up the needles are covered by triangular aluminum panels,
while the tetrahedra generated between them are covered with a mosaic of
colored glass with aluminum frame. The panels that cover the 17 needles were
manufactured in Missouri and shipped by rail to the site.
The three main shrines, the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish maintain different
relationships with glass:
1. Protestant Chapel is the largest, and here glass panels form colored ribbons
with dazzling colors, along the lines of architectural tetrahedra. The colors are
dark and rich on the back of the space, becoming brighter as you move towards
the altar.
2. In the Catholic Chapel, the crystals still forms of traditional windows, vertically
running along the side walls of the space. It has been used prefabricated masonry
and glass faceted amber. On the altar the altar is represented by a glass mosaic
mural, an abstract representation of the sky, designed by Lumen Martin Winter.
The granite steps in front lead to the main
level and the Protestant chapel
FOLDED STRUCTURES