Sign, Symbol, Voyeurism Christine Cole

This thesis centered on signification in architecture. The student researched fundamental semiotics and the role of sign in the built environment to discover the importance of potential signs as a universal means of communication that could transcend cultural constraints of verbal and written language and, in turn, bring forth that which is signifi cant and give meaning to a place and its function. The architectural exploration was a youth hostel at the corner of 11th Street and Third Avenue. The hostel would help feed the ‘desires of tourism’ through signification and, in so doing, position the hostel to serve as a ‘vehicle of travel’: a vehicle transcending place and serving as an incubator for cultural growth and knowledge. The hostel, comprised of no boundaries between communal and individual space, fosters a unique experience for the traveler by allowing them to visit and explore different cultures beyond the physical place.