Two approaches have been adopted to recall the spirit of the Damascene sense of place. The first, an inductive approach anchored in a phenomenological methodology, selects certain high-lights from the spatial and visual order of Damascus, such as the Umayyad Mosque, 5uq al-Hamidiya, the citadel and riverbanks. Having anchored the spatial order of city in these key urban institutions, the rest of the fabric takes a secondary visual primacy, connecting rather than competing with the above clusters. Scenario three best exemplifies this process of critical analysis of formal and visual selection
In contrast, the second approach relies upon historical analysis of the process of urban growth. Through a deductive methodology, this approach attempts to simulate the histori-cal and cultural layering of the city. Rather than beginning with spatial and visual elements, this formal exercise relies on reenacting each stage of the citys' urban growth: the natural setting, its roman grid, a gradual encroachment by organic structures, and the primary urban ensembles.
