Military campus: SOM unveils U.S. Air Force Academy’s newest construction

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) revisit their design of Colorado Springs’ Air Force Academy campus to gift it with a new building, a symbolic yet practical structure which will act as the site’s new Center for Character and Leadership Development, abbreviated to the CCLD.
Originally designed by SOM in 1954, the campus which has been designated as a National Historic Landmark District since 2004, accommodates around 550 staff and over 4,000 students. The CCLD will act as the new architectural focal point for the campus, whilst also visually offsetting the academy’s iconic and striking Cadet Chapel which resides directly next door to the new building.
Totalling 46,000-square-foot, the CCLD is situated to be a critical meeting point between public and cadet areas of the site, acting as a nexus due to its select location by different sectors of the building which are each designated to professors, cadets, important visitors and the public. The new building will contain a forum, a flexible working space, collaboration conference and seminar rooms, along with a library, offices and an honour board room where important matters concerning the Cadet Honor Code are held.
A 105-foot skylight looms over the CCLD’s visitors casting natural light into the depths of the building. The glass structure was designed to align with the position of the North Star, to the signify the Academy’s guiding values. An architectural and engineering marvel, the dynamic structure is composed from Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel (AESS), and exists without any embellishment or ornamentation, its sleek connections working in aesthetic harmony with SOM’s refined and pared-back design.
'Our Center for Character and Leadership Development creates a distinct and contemporary icon for the U.S. Air Force Academy, while also deferring to the discipline and rigour of the original campus plan,' states Roger Duffy, design partner at SOM. 'We were honoured to have this opportunity to revisit one of our most important projects, and to make a 21st-century contribution at the heart of the campus.'
The dynamic skylight is composed from an Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel (AESS), existing without any embellishment or ornamentation and with sleek connections, which work in aesthetic harmony with SOM’s refined and pared-back design
Totalling 46,000-square-foot, the CCLD is situated to be a critical meeting point between public and cadet areas of the site, acting as a nexus to all of the Academy's visitors
The CCLD will contain a forum, a flexible working space, collaboration conference and seminar rooms along with a library, offices and an honour board room where important matters concerning the Cadet Honor Code are held
A 105-foot skylight looms over the CCLD’s visitors, casting natural light into the depths of the building. The glass structure was symbolically designed to align with the position of the North Star
INFORMATION
For more information on the Air Force Academy's Center for Character and Leadership Development, visit Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's website
Photography: Magda Biernat
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Japan in Milan! See the highlights of Japanese design at Milan Design Week 2025
At Milan Design Week 2025 Japanese craftsmanship was a front runner with an array of projects in the spotlight. Here are some of our highlights
By Danielle Demetriou
-
Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the world
Celebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
By Léa Teuscher
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuit
Ella Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
By Hannah Silver
-
This minimalist Wyoming retreat is the perfect place to unplug
This woodland home that espouses the virtues of simplicity, containing barely any furniture and having used only three materials in its construction
By Anna Solomon
-
We explore Franklin Israel’s lesser-known, progressive, deconstructivist architecture
Franklin Israel, a progressive Californian architect whose life was cut short in 1996 at the age of 50, is celebrated in a new book that examines his work and legacy
By Michael Webb
-
A new hilltop California home is rooted in the landscape and celebrates views of nature
WOJR's California home House of Horns is a meticulously planned modern villa that seeps into its surrounding landscape through a series of sculptural courtyards
By Jonathan Bell
-
The Frick Collection's expansion by Selldorf Architects is both surgical and delicate
The New York cultural institution gets a $220 million glow-up
By Stephanie Murg
-
Remembering architect David M Childs (1941-2025) and his New York skyline legacy
David M Childs, a former chairman of architectural powerhouse SOM, has passed away. We celebrate his professional achievements
By Jonathan Bell
-
The upcoming Zaha Hadid Architects projects set to transform the horizon
A peek at Zaha Hadid Architects’ future projects, which will comprise some of the most innovative and intriguing structures in the world
By Anna Solomon
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s last house has finally been built – and you can stay there
Frank Lloyd Wright’s final residential commission, RiverRock, has come to life. But, constructed 66 years after his death, can it be considered a true ‘Wright’?
By Anna Solomon
-
Heritage and conservation after the fires: what’s next for Los Angeles?
In the second instalment of our 'Rebuilding LA' series, we explore a way forward for historical treasures under threat
By Mimi Zeiger