Nur al-Turath – Light of Heritage: Archaeological Park in Aleppo, Syria

Project by Darby Stephens – Winner Entry of Revivify

Rebuilding Memory through Architectural Heritage Conservation

In a city where every stone holds the echo of a civilization, Nur al-Turath – Light of Heritage reimagines architecture as a vessel of remembrance and resilience. Designed by Darby Stephens, this award-winning project in Aleppo, Syria, serves as both an archaeological park and cultural sanctuary, breathing life back into a landscape devastated by conflict. As a Winner of the Revivify competition, the project stands as a global example of how architectural heritage conservation can heal communities, rebuild identity, and inspire a sustainable urban future.

Context: Aleppo’s Fragile Heritage

Aleppo, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, witnessed immense destruction during the Syrian Civil War. Once a vibrant network of courtyards, souks, and citadels, its built fabric became a poignant testament to both cultural richness and human loss. Nur al-Turath rises amid this scarred terrain—a light of heritage that transforms ruins into places of renewal. The site analysis, mapping layers of historical and urban conflict, reveals the urgent need to re-stitch Aleppo’s urban fabric through design that respects memory and promotes community recovery.

Concept: Symbol of Resilient Renewal

At the heart of the project lies the Value Proposition Triangle: Education and Sustainability, Cultural and Community Healing, and Economic Regeneration. These pillars converge into a unifying idea—a symbol of resilient renewal. The design embodies this philosophy through spaces that balance preservation with transformation. By integrating heritage education with local enterprise and public engagement, the project nurtures both cultural pride and economic self-sufficiency.

Master Plan: Healing the Urban Fabric

The master plan envisions an Archaeological Park composed of four primary zones—the Grand Entrance, Souk Workshops, Reflecting Pond, and Community Garden. Each zone corresponds to a layer of cultural meaning:

• Grand Entrance: A monumental threshold blending ancient architectural geometry with contemporary reinterpretation. Clay models and plans depict the space as an open invitation—where visitors encounter Aleppo’s history not as static relics, but as living narratives.
• Souk Workshops: Reviving the artisanal heart of the city, these structures host craftspeople and apprentices, echoing Aleppo’s legacy of craftsmanship. Through adaptive reuse principles, the workshops become catalysts for architectural sustainability and economic resilience.
• Reflecting Pond: Inspired by Islamic courtyard traditions, the pond symbolizes purification and contemplation. Its geometry and proportion offer spatial harmony, connecting the human experience to landscape restoration.
• Community Garden: This space blends education, agriculture, and recreation. It stands as a social infrastructure of healing, where cultural exchange and local participation cultivate a sense of belonging and continuity.

Architecture as a Cultural Healer

The project uses heritage conservation architecture not as an act of nostalgia but as a strategy for renewal. Through clay models, site analyses, and sectional studies, the proposal translates ruin into opportunity. Every courtyard, arch, and water feature revives the sensory memory of Aleppo’s historic built environment—its tactile materials, light-filtered spaces, and communal intimacy.

By combining traditional construction techniques with modern sustainable design, Nur al-Turath transforms memory into material form. The result is not a reconstruction of the past, but an architectural framework where past, present, and future coexist in equilibrium.

Landscape and Ecology: Healing with Nature

The site’s grading and plant schedule emphasize ecological sensitivity. Indigenous flora is used to stabilize soil, restore biodiversity, and cool the microclimate. The reflecting pond and garden systems create passive irrigation networks, turning heritage conservation into an environmentally regenerative process. This integration of landscape architecture and cultural restoration reinforces Aleppo’s potential to heal through natural cycles.

Education, Economy, and Empowerment

Nur al-Turath functions as a living classroom—a space where local communities, historians, and visitors engage in dialogue about identity and reconstruction. Workshops generate employment and skill-building opportunities, fostering economic self-reliance. Tourism is reimagined through cultural depth, positioning Aleppo as a center of learning, not spectacle.

By merging educational outreach with cultural entrepreneurship, the park becomes a prototype for post-conflict architectural recovery worldwide.

Design as an Act of Hope

In its essence, Nur al-Turath transcends architecture as a physical construct. It is a ritual of remembrance, an ecosystem of empathy, and a model of regenerative design. Where devastation once stood, the project establishes light, dialogue, and renewal. Through its thoughtful layers of design—spatial, ecological, and social—it exemplifies how architecture can become a language of healing.

As Aleppo continues its journey toward revival, Nur al-Turath stands as a timeless reminder: heritage is not only what we inherit, but what we rebuild with intention, compassion, and vision.