The research deals with five different urban centres in Istanbul where high-rise housing has been increasing dramatically since the 2000s. Therefore, the research regards the multi-centred urban residential model being created by high-rise housing structures in the urban tissue. In the framework of the research hypothesis, it is aimed to prove that the character of vertical dense structuring in Istanbul is based on differentiation, form and image making in the expressive quality. The site analysis is realised with the help of the Sign model of Charles Sanders Peirce. The high-rise buildings have been analysed in the context of icon-index-symbol sign parameters, questioning the search for differentiation, form and image.