Signs

I had hoped that my analysis of calligraphy would provide a guide for understanding Chinese architectural arrangement. On my trip to China this past fall I've documented street signs, their particular configuration and arrangement in various cities. The vertical proportion are a function of the Chinese word. What's interesting for me was that instead of mounting the signage above the door of each shop, Chinese signs are hung perpendicularly from building facades. A cluster of them in a sense, flattens the streetscape.

Shanghai

Fuzhou

Hong Kong

Toronto