The Center for Character & Leadership Development (CCLD) will serve as an education and research center, supporting the Air Force Academy’s mission to integrate character and leadership development into all aspects of the Cadet experience while also serving as a think tank for leadership and character development initiatives nationwide.
The CCLD also represents an important and symbolic addition to the Academy’s campus, which SOM designed in 1954, and was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 2004. As the first building constructed in the Cadet Area since the 1990s, the CCLD creates an architectural focal point for the campus, and serves as a counterpoint to the Academy’s iconic Cadet Chapel.
“Character and leadership development is the essence of the Air Force Academy’s mission and is interwoven into every aspect of the Academy experience,” says Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson, Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy. “This iconic structure represents our bold vision to become the premier venue for the integrated study and development of character and leadership.”
The 46,000-square-foot building is located at a critical meeting point between the cadet and public areas of the campus. The building serves as a nexus, with spaces dedicated to cadets, professors, distinguished visitors and the public. It contains the Forum, a flexible gathering space for academic and social interaction; a series of collaboration, conference, and seminar rooms; offices; library; and the Honor Board Room, where inquiries related to the Cadet Honor Code take place.
“Our design for the CCLD creates a distinct and contemporary icon for the U.S. Air Force Academy, while also deferring to the discipline and rigor of the original campus plan,” states Roger Duffy, Design Partner at SOM. “We were honored 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 CCLD features a dramatic 105-foot skylight, a design element that establishes a bold presence on the campus, while bringing ample natural light into the building. This glass-enclosed structure aligns precisely with the North Star, which signifies the Academy’s guiding values. By aligning this new center for community and collaboration under the North Star, SOM’s design creates a meaningful architectural interpretation of the Academy’s aspirations.
With its complete integration of architecture and structural engineering, dynamic nature of its form, and machine-like precision, the skylight is fluid yet disciplined. The structure of the skylight consists of diagonal steel plates composed in a triangular grid and precisely calibrated to resist the lateral forces due to wind loading. The Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel (AESS) is devoid of all embellishment or ornamentation, and its sleek connections are cohesive with the aesthetics of the structure.
At the center of the building, the Forum’s terraced levels will accommodate gatherings at a variety of scales and levels of formality. Glasswalled collaboration rooms surround the Forum, offering meeting spaces that emphasize the quality of transparency that is central to the building’s design.
Symbolically placed at the building’s heart, the Honor Board Room features a conference table situated beneath a glass aperture that opens onto the larger skylight above. A cadet seated at the table will be precisely aligned with the North Star. The interior of the Honor Board Room is kept deliberately simple, with walls, floor and ceiling clad in maple, to emphasize the table illuminated at the center of the room.
Designed to meet LEED® Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the CCLD will set a new standard for green technology and building practices on the U.S. Air Force Academy campus. To meet this sustainability goal, and to potentially obtain LEED® Gold certification, SOM developed integrated building systems that influence all aspects of the building’s design, construction, and operation. The CCLD features an energy efficient approach to climate control that utilizes high-efficiency air handling units, displacement ventilation, radiant heating and cooling, and a solar chimney effect within the skylight structure that expels heated air. In addition to the ample natural light provided by the skylight structure, the building’s classrooms, meeting rooms, and offices are situated around two adjacent courtyards to minimize the use of artificial lighting.
18-Oct-2012 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 20th-century landmark and contributing to its enduring position in the canon of American architecture.”
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.
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.”
