The Oriental Institute is housed in an eclectic building in the gothic revival urban fabric of the University of Chicago. The facility is essentially a research institute in history and civilization in the middle-east, with emphasis on archaeology, art, history and ancient languages. The program of the extension of the Institute was not only to create and organize the interior and exterior spaces, but also to fulfil the need of the Institute in areas of exhibition, library, laboratories, lecture halls, study rooms, offices and services.

The idea developed in this project is fundamentally based on the creation of space. The built-up images of environment originated from common aspects endured in the history of architecture. The uniform architectural qualities of urban environment of the Institute demand a solution to fulfill the void between the existing Institute and Rockfeller Chapel. Therefore, the spirituality of space becomes the center of the design process. The architectural heritage of the University of Chicago is carefully considered as the fundamental means for ordering and shaping interior and exterior spaces. The meaning of forms, order of space, and elements of the urban environment becomes the basis for the extension of the Institute.

The project obtains a range of spatial significance's from common aspects of architecture and formal images of the environment through order, form and aesthetics to harmonize the complex composition of the site and the building. The formal and structural continuity of the urban space with its axial and directional elements has been transformed in the extension by employing an appropriate structural system and environmental controls to make it a part of its urban context. Placement of functions and differentiation of space has made the modern extension Gothic in expression.