United States Air Force Academy Builds Madera Cyber Innovation Center

The United States Air Force Academy is constructing the $58 million Madera Cyber Innovation Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Designed by AECOM, the 49,000-sf building will strategically collocate the academy's Department of Computer and Cyber Sciences, the Air Force's CyberWorx center, and the Department of Homeland Security's Center of Innovation. Integrating reconfigurable modules for enhanced programmatic flexibility, the three-story structure will offer technology-enabled classrooms, numerous breakout rooms, and design studios for collaborative development with industry and academic partners. The transformative facility will feature ten state-of-the-art laboratories:

• Industrial Control and Platform Security Lab
• Vehicle Lab
• Forensics and Reverse Engineering Lab
• Immersive Environment, Data Visualization, and Decision Support Lab
• Cross-Domain Integration and Command and Control Lab
• Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab
• Policy, Strategy, Cyber Law, Ethics, and Digital Humanities Lab
• Cybersecurity, Networking, Radio Frequency, and Telecommunications Lab
• Two Cyber Training Labs
• Secure Dry Research Lab  

The Madera Cyber Innovation Center will leverage specialized security and IT solutions to accommodate private sector collaborators while ensuring research integrity. Integrated video capture technologies will enable lectures and demonstrations to be rebroadcast to the rest of the USAFA campus. Illuminated by natural light, the sustainable project will incorporate a glazed curtainwall and a grand circular staircase. Ground was broken in August of 2021 on the facility, which is expected to attain LEED Silver certification. Occupancy is slated for fall of 2024.