Twenty-one separate wall panels were created by pouring concrete into horizontal molds that were laid like a jigsaw puzzle on the concrete base of the building. Once hardened, the panels were raised with a large crane, rotated, and set into place as interlocking tablets along weighs 77 tons. The exterior walls are stained a "Roman ochre" color to resemble the stone used in many churches and other buildings in Rome. The hook points where the crane picked up the walls are topped with bronze coverings to serve as traces of the chapels construction method and to cast changing shadows on the walls.
The roof is constructed from curved tubular steel beams the define the chapels interior vaults and its arched "bottles of light" on the roof. These bottles, as well as the bell tower, are covered in Rheinzink, a metal that reflects the changing colors of the sky.