Statement of problem: One of the contemporary architectural phenomena is high-rise buildings. Because they are multifaceted, they should be seen in interdisciplinary studies. The problem with this research is the meaning of these buildings. One of the semantic aspects of architecture in addition to its physical and functional meaning is its social and cultural meaning, which is the result of the interaction of social connections, community values, the body and the function of buildings.
Research objective: This study seeks to understand some of the cultural and social meanings of high-rise residential buildings. This has been done by reviewing literature as one of the semiotic sources of social and cultural discourse. To this end, after reviewing contemporary Iranian fiction, the novel “Rahesh” has been selected, which has addressed this phenomenon more than any other story.
Research method: This study was conducted in a post-structuralist cognitive paradigm with a qualitative approach using discursive semiotic (post-structuralist) method. The research is descriptive-analytical in terms of type of results and theoretical in terms of purpose. The analytical method used in this study is the analysis of the Holliday Critical Discourse, with the retroductive method, and the data were collected using a library method.
Conclusion: This study showed that high-rise residential buildings in social sustainability discourse, challenge to ideal home, urban nature, visions, citizen health, maternal and spouse role, some social values ​​such as capitalism and luxury and links of these, are in the neighborhood. Thus, the underlying socio-cultural transformations, including the role of women in the family, the pretentiousness and the destruction of traditional contexts and green spaces, are most reflected in large urban communities and are influenced by managers’ decisions and political competition.