This study aims to furnish a semiotic reading of Sydney's Chinatown by analysing the environmental meanings codified in that particular context. The basic unit of analysis is the shop sign. Some features underlying sign formations in Sydney's Chinatown are identified and the communication process involved in its organisation of meanings and space is explored. The thesis is organised into three parts. The first part gives an introduction to the background of study and examines theories on architectural semiotics and its relation to visual communication. It consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 defines the scope of the study and outlines the objectives and goals of research. Chapter 2 focuses on two related fields of architectural semiotics, viz. semiotics of objects and semiotics of space. Evaluation of semiotic approaches and behavioural science approaches to the study of objects and space is made. Some of the theories discussed are applied to give a profile of shop signs from a visual semiotic perspective. In Chapter 3 a description of the methods of research and an outline of the analytical framework of this study are given. The two chapters of Part Two provide some background information on various conceptions of "Chinatown". Chapter 4 discusses the development features of Chinatowns in North America, which reveal that there are divergent perceptions of Chinatowns. Chapter 5 describes the development of Sydney's Chinatown and underlines some of its distinctive features. In Part Three the results of the study are presented. Chapter 6 focuses on the codification of meanings realised in Sydney's Chinatown. Chapter 7 is concerned with elements of sign formations and examines the communicative functions of shop signs in the Chinatown context. The analyses made in these chapters are intended to identify some features of sign formations in Sydney's Chinatown within an architectonic system. The thesis concludes with a summary of the study and a discussion of the applicability of architectural semiotic theories. It is suggested that further study can be pursued in the direction that contributes to an understanding of architectonic systems and social communication.