The rhetoric of architecture: A semiotic approach

Communication and rhetoric are inherent aspects of architecture. Architecture uses signs to communicate its function and meaning. This communication is rhetorical when it induces its perceiver to use or to understand the architecture—from a hot dog stand to a monument. Movements in architecture, such as the Gothic or the International Style, promote certain values and beliefs, and can be studied as rhetorical movements. Like linguistic communication, architecture consists of codes, meanings, semantic shifts, and syntactic units.