United States Air Force Memorial

Arlington, Virginia

Overlooking the Pentagon from the crest of a promontory, the memorial honors aviation pioneers, both celebrated and unsung.

  • Cultural
  • Civic & Institutional

Unlike the Navy, which has water as its medium, or the Army, which has land, the medium of the Air Force is air, invisible and difficult to articulate. The design challenge was thus to make air palpable while simultaneously evoking the technological advances on which the Air Force depends.
The essence of the memorial is flight.

Stats

  • Site

    3 acres on the Naval Annex promontory

  • Components

    20,000 ft2 / 2,000 m2 gross area; Memorial entry gate; 3 spires (270, 231, 201 feet high); translucent glass Chamber of Contemplation; inscription walls; bronze Honor Guard; parade ground; stepped stone plinth for seating; ceremonial pathways; significant planting; vehicular roadway and turnaround; parking; service structure

  • Client

    Air Force Memorial Foundation

  • PCF Services

    Architecture

The memorial rises asymmetrically in three stainless steel spires that soar to heights of 270, 231, and 201 feet. The appearance of the arcs changes dynamically with the viewer’s location, the weather, and the time of day. At night they are illuminated from the ground, with their tips brilliantly lit for drama against the sky.

Awards

  • Gill Robb Wilson Award
    Air Force Association, 2006
  • Award of Excellence
    American Concrete Institute, 2007
  • International Illumination Design Awards: The Paul Westbury Award for Outdoor Lighting Design: Award of Distinction
    Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, 2008
  • Lumen Award: Award of Merit
    Illuminating Engineering Society of North America: New York City Section, 2008
  • Certificate of Merit for Excellence in Construction
    Associated Builders and Contractors: Metropolitan Washington and Virginia Chapters, 2007

Project Credits

  • Sculptor

    Zenos Frudakis, Philadelphia

  • Engineers

    Ove Arup & Partners, New York

  • Landscape

    Olin Partnership, Philadelphia

  • Lighting Designer

    Office for Visual Interaction (OVI), New York

  • Traffic

    Wells & Associates McLean, VA

  • Civil Engineer

    VIKA, Inc., McLean, VA

  • Environmental consultant

    EDAW, Inc., Alexandria, VA

  • Images

    Patrick S. McCafferty / ARUP, PCF Architects

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