This building was consecrated on September 30, 1981. Rudolph’s father, Keener Rudolph, was in the first graduating class from the Candler School of Theology at Emory in 1915.
“At the chapel for Emory University there are four identical columns which support the centralized space. The demands of the exposed mechanical system at each of these columns is very differnet because of the sun’s orientation. The regular structure juxtaposed to the irregular mechanical system and the resulting clusters are consequently much more dynamic, lively, humane. You sense that the sun is here, and that the return is there; you need more cooling here, because that’s where the sun is, and less there, which, in turn, helps to put you in touch with the universe. We should have buildings which adapt to the changing seasons.”
Davern, Jeanne M. “A Conversation with Paul Rudolph.” Architectural Record 170 (March 1982): 90-97.