INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS OF ARCHITECTURAL STYLES IN THE HISTORICAL CENTER OF MACAU

摘要

The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the architectural styles of the Historical Center of Macau. This investigation found that architectural styles in the Historical Center of Macau embody colonial architectural forms and retain the earliest material culture that Europe left behind in Asian regions. The findings of this study are as follows: (1) With the principles of semiotics, the research can explain that due to the Portuguese colonial culture, the architectural style of the Historical Center of Macau presents the mixed phenomenon between Chinese and Western cultures. (2) Western architectural styles in the Historical Center of Macau are vibrant in form; influences coming from Baroque, Neoclassical, Renaissance, and Islamic architectural styles, among others, can be observed. Among them, Baroque and Neoclassicism are the main styles. (3) Chinese architectural decorations principally inspired by Lingnan culture are particular to the use of decorative plant emblazonments, combined with animal, character, and geometric designs as well as text plaques. Both Western and Chinese architectural styles employ the rhetoric of signs through metaphors and homophonic transferences of meaning.