Architecture can be designed to convey a specif c meaning. Architecture throughout history has embodied meaning of such things as religion, society, nature, economy or the power structure of the day. Architecture communicates to people overt and hidden meaning in a variety of ways. Research into the theories of this topic will be carried out by examining three clearly distinct projects in depth to identify ways in which architecture can be meaningful. Following the analysis of the first part of the thesis, the findings will be tested in a design project, a "Center for Freedom of Speech." The design will make use of the strategies for being meaningful identified in the research. The building will include a museum, a research center, a library of banned books, and a memorial. The site is located on Miami University's Western College campus in Oxford, Ohio. This campus served as the training center for the "Freedom Riders" during the Civil Rights Movement.
