Feng assessed the project and concluded that the thin-shell approach was feasible, and Chen brought him to New York to make a presentation to Pei. With Pei ’ s approval, construction began at the end of 1962.
鳳後三評估可行，但已開始主導東海校園工程的張肇康堅持木造，雙方僵持不下，致使 1958 年才剛舉辦教堂動土典禮便停工，直到陳、鳳兩人前往紐約向貝聿銘說明，最後接受了新的計算結果，才於 1962 年年底正式開工。