| Abstract [eng] |
Architecture, as a human activity that shapes and structures space, can be understood as a compelling mechanism for the generating meaning. This thesis explores the foundational assumptions and conventions underlying narrativity, grammar, linguistic qualities, and processes of meaning-making within architecture. For a combined action of semiotic analysis of architecture (or the reading of architectural space), various theoretical approaches are employed: Umberto Eco’s strategy for reading architectural signs, which considers the functions of buildings and their elements; as well as semiotic approaches towards city, architecture, and culture by Algirdas Julien Greimas, Manar Hammad, and Juri Lotman. The study also briefly reviews non-semiotic approaches that recognize, document, and analyse the assumptions of architectural narrativity. Non-semiotic approaches that recognize, document, and analyse the assumptions of architectural narrativity are also briefly reviewed. At its core, the research undertakes an in-depth semiotic analysis of a specific architectural object: an atypical Soviet-era apartment building in Vilnius commonly referred to as the House of Artists. The analysis encompasses architectural plans, drawings, and the material form of the built structure itself. Four distinct stages of spatial transformation are identified over the course of the building’s evolution. Each phase is examined through a close reading of the architectural text, focusing on its reinterpretations and the semantic enrichment that occurs as a result. The thesis further elucidates the issue of the collective actant, which encounters intersubjective tensions within this process. A concept of impermanent architecture is introduced as a theoretical contribution of this research. It is used to describe how an ostensibly finished architectural object—such as a Soviet-era apartment block—undergoes transformation not through top-down processes like planned urban development or state-driven renovation initiatives, but through fragmented, spontaneous, and often uncoordinated interventions by the building's residents. These architectural transformations remain open-ended. The analysis reveals that within the architectural text of the Vilnius House of Artists, multiple, often contradictory narrative programs operate simultaneously. The ongoing interaction and collision of these narratives present a fertile ground for further observation and analytical approach. |
