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.

A pesquisa lançou um olhar sobre a produção arquitetônica de Peter Eisenman e sobre a cidade de Berlim, buscando centrar-se na análise de uma obra específi ca, o Memorial dos Judeus Assassinados da Europa. O texto construído é uma reunião de instantâneos de percurso, de fragmentos de uma narrativa imaginada e interpretada pelo verbal. Tentando construir uma análise que contemplasse de alguma maneira a dimensão da experiência da obra, foi promovido o cruzamento com comentários e análises escritas em outros momentos, com refl exões feitas a partir de achados de pesquisa, com recortes de textos e imagens e desenhos analíticos feitos ao longo do trabalho. Assim, o conjunto de três capítulos procura desenhar um percurso análogo ao desenvolvido ao longo da pesquisa, procurando permanecer atento ao suporte texto/imagem de uma dissertação e condensando o processo de três anos no relato fi ccional de uma jornada de um dia. No primeiro capítulo é feita uma espécie de panorâmica cronológica da obra de Eisenman que, no entanto, não conta a sua história, mas a do pesquisador seguindo a trilha deixada pelo arquiteto. No segundo capítulo a jornada ganha tempo e espaço com a sequencia que narra a chegada à cidade de Berlim e o percurso até o Memorial dos Judeus Assassinados da Europa, cuja análise é feita no terceiro capítulo. / This research takes an overview of the architectural output of Peter Eisenman and more generally, the city of Berlin. The research then focusses on an analysis of a single specifi c work, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The text itself is constructed from moments in a perambulation of the work and fragments of an imagined narrative. As an attempt to construct an analysis which contemplates the physical experience of the work, this method interlaces commentaries and analyses made at different times, refl ections on fi ndings of the research and snippets of text, images and drawings made during the course of the research. As a whole, the three chapters seek to illustrate the route taken during the research. Whilst remaining aware of the need to support the text/images of a dissertation, the text aims to condense the process of three years of research into the fi ctional story of a single day. The fi rst chapter gives a chronological overview of the works of Eisenman. This is not recounted as a history of the works, but as an account of the researcher following the trail left by the architect. The second chapter gains time and space with a sequence that narrates the arrival of the researcher in Berlin and the journey to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The analysis of the Memorial itself is contained in the third chapter.

A pesquisa lançou um olhar sobre a produção arquitetônica de Peter Eisenman e sobre a cidade de Berlim, buscando centrar-se na análise de uma obra específi ca, o Memorial dos Judeus Assassinados da Europa. O texto construído é uma reunião de instantâneos de percurso, de fragmentos de uma narrativa imaginada e interpretada pelo verbal. Tentando construir uma análise que contemplasse de alguma maneira a dimensão da experiência da obra, foi promovido o cruzamento com comentários e análises escritas em outros momentos, com refl exões feitas a partir de achados de pesquisa, com recortes de textos e imagens e desenhos analíticos feitos ao longo do trabalho. Assim, o conjunto de três capítulos procura desenhar um percurso análogo ao desenvolvido ao longo da pesquisa, procurando permanecer atento ao suporte texto/imagem de uma dissertação e condensando o processo de três anos no relato fi ccional de uma jornada de um dia. No primeiro capítulo é feita uma espécie de panorâmica cronológica da obra de Eisenman que, no entanto, não conta a sua história, mas a do pesquisador seguindo a trilha deixada pelo arquiteto. No segundo capítulo a jornada ganha tempo e espaço com a sequencia que narra a chegada à cidade de Berlim e o percurso até o Memorial dos Judeus Assassinados da Europa, cuja análise é feita no terceiro capítulo. / This research takes an overview of the architectural output of Peter Eisenman and more generally, the city of Berlin. The research then focusses on an analysis of a single specifi c work, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The text itself is constructed from moments in a perambulation of the work and fragments of an imagined narrative. As an attempt to construct an analysis which contemplates the physical experience of the work, this method interlaces commentaries and analyses made at different times, refl ections on fi ndings of the research and snippets of text, images and drawings made during the course of the research. As a whole, the three chapters seek to illustrate the route taken during the research. Whilst remaining aware of the need to support the text/images of a dissertation, the text aims to condense the process of three years of research into the fi ctional story of a single day. The fi rst chapter gives a chronological overview of the works of Eisenman. This is not recounted as a history of the works, but as an account of the researcher following the trail left by the architect. The second chapter gains time and space with a sequence that narrates the arrival of the researcher in Berlin and the journey to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The analysis of the Memorial itself is contained in the third chapter.