Source: https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/
Title: Gulangyu Tile Patterns
Metadata: {"category":"artifact","id":"gulangyu-tile-patterns","kind":"artifact","language":"en","route":"/gulangyu-tile-patterns/","tags":["geometry","drawing","gulangyu"],"type":"project"}

These drawings began with a photograph of decorative tiles on a staircase in Gulangyu. They are approximate geometric reconstructions: a way to study repeated shapes, symmetry and colour, not measured restorations or evidence of the tiles’ historical origins.

[![Twelve geometric tile studies in a four-column, three-row sheet: floral rosettes, curved lobes, interlaced shapes and stepped crosses.](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/twelve-studies.svg)](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/twelve-studies.svg)

## Drawing with repeated rules

Each study occupies a square with coordinates from −120 to 120 on both axes. A motif can be drawn once and repeated around the centre. Quarter-turn repetition uses angles 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°; a sixteen-part rosette uses steps of 360° / 16 = 22.5°.

For a point (x, y), rotation through an angle θ gives (x cos θ − y sin θ, x sin θ + y cos θ). In the SVGs, repeated motifs use the same underlying shape with a rotation transform. Circles and arcs supply rounded forms; polygons supply stars and stepped crosses; quadratic and cubic Bézier curves supply petals and scrolls. Layered shapes create coloured bands, and a square clipping boundary keeps each drawing inside its tile.

The clean edges, balanced symmetry and solid colours are choices in these reconstructions. They simplify the perspective, wear, lighting and irregularities of the photographed surface. The drawings do not establish physical dimensions or original colours.

## Download the vectors

Open the [complete SVG sheet](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/twelve-studies.svg), or an individual study below. Numbers run left to right, then top to bottom in the sheet. Each individual SVG retains the corresponding drawing’s geometry.

- First row: [01](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-01.svg) · [02](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-02.svg) · [03](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-03.svg) · [04](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-04.svg)
- Second row: [05](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-05.svg) · [06](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-06.svg) · [07](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-07.svg) · [08](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-08.svg)
- Third row: [09](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-09.svg) · [10](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-10.svg) · [11](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-11.svg) · [12](https://mayphus.org/gulangyu-tile-patterns/study-12.svg)

## Cultural context and possible connections

The staircase brings together floral rosettes, four-lobed forms often called quatrefoils, and interlaced, star-like geometry. Gulangyu is a documented setting for exchanges between Chinese, Southeast Asian and European cultures, shaped by local residents, foreign communities and returning overseas Chinese. [UNESCO’s account of Kulangsu](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1541) describes this broader architectural and cultural setting.

Several traditions offer useful visual comparisons:

- European patterned flooring: the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya holds a [plant-patterned hydraulic pavement by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, around 1900](https://www.museunacional.cat/en/colleccio/hydraulic-pavement/lluis-domenech-i-montaner/153252-001).
- Islamic geometric ornament: stars, symmetry and interlacing recall a rich tradition that also developed forms with Greek, Roman and Sasanian precedents. The Metropolitan Museum of Art explains these relationships in [Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/geometric-patterns-in-islamic-art).
- Southeast Asian architectural exchange: Singapore’s [Emerald Hill](https://www.roots.gov.sg/places/places-landing/Places/landmarks/orchard-heritage-trail/emerald-hill) offers a regional comparison through Peranakan buildings combining European architectural elements, colourful tiles and Chinese motifs.

These are visual comparisons, not a proven lineage for the photographed tiles. The photograph cannot establish their maker, date, material, manufacturing place, or whether they are later reproductions. It does not show that these particular tiles are hydraulic cement, Islamic imports or Portuguese imports. The generated drawings cannot settle those questions either.

For related experiments in repeated forms, see [Flower Studies](https://mayphus.org/flower/) and [Motif](https://mayphus.org/motif/).