The Architecture of Persuasion: Reinterpreting Commercial Vernacular on Wilshire Boulevard

Abstract

This thesis focuses on an analysis of billboards which exist as the common thread on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, weaving together its many fragmentary qualities. By responding to the abundance of billboards on Wilshire as part of the unavoidable media driven culture of Los Angeles, the project aims to show how their layering within the city adds depth and creates rhythms on the street, as well as how the visual message they convey can be further utilized as a meaningful expression of individuality, cultural relevance, and spatial experience. Overall, the project seeks to transform the notion of traditional building and outdoor sign relationships in an effort to celebrate the ways these seemingly mundane urban conditions along Wilshire boulevard can successfully allow for meaningful and dynamic public interaction.