A miscellaneous, largely ‘for fun’ collection of various non in situ Cairo tiling aspects, in which the Cairo tiling is to be seen in a variety of mediums. The format is a picture and brief discussion. On occasions, I am unable to show pictures as the image holder did not respond to request for permissions, and where this arises I thus instead give a link. 1. Polyhedrons (Jak Drinnan, Kenneth Peel) Does anyone know of other instances? Do let me know for inclusion. Individual Listing: 1. Bisymmetric Hendecahedron, by Jac Drinnan, Netherlands 2. Flooring, by Forbo, UK 3. Shower Base, by John Mansfield, US 4. Table, by Andreas Hopf, Germany 5. Quilting/Patchwork by Josee Carrier, US 6. Penta-Graphene Discovery 7. Escher-like Cairo tilings by Alain Nicolas, France 8. Tamara Restaurant Panels, Cairo, Egypt 9. IKEA Jall tabletop ironing board 10. Bow Tie, by Le Noeud Papillon, Sydney, Australia 11. Cushion, by Macy's, US 12. Flooring and Wall, First Base Pizzeria, Cape Town, South Africa 13. Pavement Drawing: Pan-American Games, 2015, Toronto, Canada 14. 'Bretzel Love’ Café chair, Paris, France 15. Torus, by Kenneth Peel, US 16. Kimono by Moriguchi Kunihiko, Japan 17. Canopy, Maple Square, Toronto, Canada 18. Chair, by Monsieur Meuble, a French furniture company 19. Wine Racks, by Grassi Pietre, for Zýmē Winery, San Pietro, Italy 20. Folded paper structure, 'Bar-Bell Yellow', by Ron Resch 21. Marquetry panels, by Heliot and Co, London, UK 22. Coffee Table, by Monzer Hammoud of Pont des Arts, Paris 23. Exhibition stand by Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK), of Stuttgart, Germany 24. Coffee table by Francesco Caracciolo di Marano and Sam Robin, with their company Robicara, US 25. Wall Installation, at Arndale Centre, Manchester, UK 26. Acoustic Panels, Norway 27. 'Pentagonal Framework', by Adriel Designs, US 28. Shelving unit, by Alexander Pincus, US 29. Origami, by John Szinger, US 31. Origami, by David Mitchell, UK 32. Escher-like jigsaw puzzle, by Angie Leslie (Curious Minds), US 1. Bisymmetric Hendecahedron, by Jak Drinnan Another curiosity of the Cairo tiling is that it can be seen in an instance of polyhedra, specifically of the space-filling Bisymmetric Hendecahedron. Such a polyhedron is a relatively recent discovery, as reported in a 1996 paper by Guy Inchbald. For further details see: http://www.steelpillow.com/polyhedra/five_sf/five.htm Although the Cairo tiling as an entity was not directly noticed in Inchbald’s paper, an architect, Jak Drinnan, happened to notice this, and being familiar with the Cairo tiling made the association. Although I am interested in polyhedra, this is very much secondary to my interest in tessellation. Indeed, I lack the mathematics here for a true mathematical treatment. Would any reader more familiar with this have anything to say? For more on Jak Drinnan and the bisymmetric hendecahedron per se, see: http://www.jd-d.co.uk/2012/07/material-designing-complexity.html   © Jac Drinan 2. Flooring, UK, 1950s Style? Natural Floors A most interesting historical sighting, and in a ‘foreign’ context, is a sighting as a flooring, in the UK, of c. 1950s. However, details here are a little sketchy. A picture was posted on Natural Floors NW (North West) Limited website (and Facebook page) with an intriguing reference to the Cairo tiling in a bathroom of the 1950s: https://www.facebook.com/Natural.Floors?fref=ts However, upon correspondence with the company, the picture as shown is not the original flooring but is rather a modern-day recreation as best as is possible. Furthermore, the attributed date (the 1950s), is the best guess, from the age of the house and the material used, with printed tile effect linoleum. I quote excerpts from the company emails: (Mail 1, 19 October 2015) We had a customer buy a house built in the 1950's & in the bathroom was a printed tile effect linoleum, printed lino was a very popular floor covering in the UK from as early as the 1930's but the early ones were quite often floral patterns. As this house was from the 50's we assume the lino was of the same period. No one makes a printed lino anymore, (Vinyl is not lino!) so we made the [modern day] pattern by hand cutting sheet linoleum in 4 colours using Forbo Walton Linoleum as this was the closest we could get to the original colours. and (Mail 2, 20 October 2015) We assume it is a 1950's pattern as this type of patterned linoleum was not made much beyond the 50's. Once vinyl became popular Marmoleum was used mainly in commercial locations. It is only now becoming popular again as a domestic flooring…. However, much still remains unknown here. Despite extensive web searching, who manufactured the vinyl, and what date these were installed is not known for certain, although 1950s does indeed seem a distinct possibility. Can anyone shed any more light on these background matters? Or indeed, have anything else to say on this?   © Natural Floors NW 3. Shower Base, by John Mansfield An instance of a modern-day self-design is of bathroom floor at the home of John Mansfield, in North Potomac, Maryland, USA (about 25 miles north by north-west from the centre of Washington, D.C). This was built during the summer of 2014. The material is porcelain. The Cairo tiling was specially chosen for the project. John told me;  4. Table, by Andreas Hopf Some table designs as shown at design fairs, from Andreas Hopf, the designer.     © Andreas Hopf 5. Quilting/Patchwork, by Josée Carrier http://www.thecharmingneedle.com/2014/06/cosmic-voyage.html
© Josée Carrier 6. Penta-graphene Discovery A recent development (February 2015) concerning the Cairo tiling is in the form of a scientific discovery, of ‘Penta-graphene’. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and universities in China and Japan have discovered a new structural variant of carbon called ‘Penta-graphene’ – a very thin sheet of pure carbon that has a unique structure inspired by the Cairo tiling. The newly discovered material is a single layer of carbon pentagons that resembles the Cairo tiling, and that appears to be dynamically, thermally and mechanically stable and can withstand temperatures up to 1,000 K (730 °C; 1,340 °F). The background to discovery is relayed by one of the researchers, Qian Wang, Ph.D., a professor at Peking University and an adjunct professor at VCU, who was dining in a restaurant in Beijing with her husband when she noticed artwork on the wall depicting pentagon tiles from the streets of Cairo. 'I told my husband, "Come, see! This is a pattern composed only of pentagons,'" she said. "I took a picture and sent it to one of my students, and said, 'I think we can make this. It might be stable. But you must check it carefully.' He did, and it turned out that this structure is so beautiful yet also very simple." The researchers' paper, ‘Penta-Graphene: A New Carbon Allotrope’, will appear in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and is based on research that was launched at Peking University and VCU.
  Restaurant image © Qian Wang 7. Escher-like Cairo Tilings, by Alain Nicolas Some excellent Escher-like instances by the French artist, Alain Nicolas, based on the Cairo tiling. Other contributions are sought. Also see Entry 32, for another Escher-like instance, by Angie Leslie of ‘Curious Minds’, but in the form of a jigsaw puzzle.
 8. Tamara Lebanese Bistro Restaurant, Cairo Some interesting and indeed novel use is to be seen at the Tamara Lebanese bistro, in Cairo, with numerous geometric patterned panels suspended from the ceiling, one of which includes the Cairo tiling. Such an instance gives credence as to its being a traditional Islamic tiling, although there is scant evidence of this. Upon enquiring with the company, of a Lebanese premise, on the possibility of these being from the Lebanon, they told me that these were simply generic Islamic designs.    9. IKEA Jäll Tabletop Ironing Board  10. Bow Tie, by Le Noeud Papillon, Sydney, Australia Le Noeud Papillon, a bow tie company, of Sydney, Australia, has among their range two silk bow ties, of a pentagon theme, one of the recent (2015) Type 15 pentagon discovery, and another of a Cairo tiling. This is a limited edition of twenty, with a price of $165.   © Le Noeud Papillon Company 11. Cushion, from Macy's, New York, US A cushion, available from Macy's, of New York, US, and other stores  12. Flooring and Wall, at First Base Pizzeria, Cape Town, South Africa http://retaildesignblog.net/2016/09/02/first-base-pizza-by-inhouse-brand-architects-cape-town-south-africa/ Another, so far unique instance, at least in combination, is that of flooring and wall tiles from First Base Pizzeria, of the Paddocks Shopping Centre, Cape Town, South Africa. This is a splendid sight indeed, of a multiple six-colouring, albeit without any apparent structure and appears to be of a modern-day installation, of 2016. This was designed by Inhouse Brand Architects, although the story behind its installation is unknown. Disappointingly, upon asking for picture permission and more details the architects did not respond, as well as a request to the (independent) photographer, Riaan West, hence the lack of pictures and more exact detail. 13. Pavement Drawing, Pan-American games, Toronto, Canada Pan-American games, Toronto, July 2015 14. 'Bretzel Love’ Café Chair, Paris, France A ‘Cairo Café Chair’, as seen in Paris, France, from the ‘Bretzel Love’ Café chain. The background of this as to the designer and manufacturer are unknown. However, the chronology is roughly known; it appears to be ‘fairly recent’, the chain having opened in 2009. Of note is the interlinking structure, reminiscent of Rinus Roelofs’ work.  © Robert Ferréol 15. Torus, by Kenneth Peel The Cairo tiling realised as a 3D model onto the surface of a torus by Kenneth Peel, a student of mathematics at Bellingham, Washington state, US.  © Kenneth Peel 16. Kimono, by Moriguchi Kunihiko An interesting sighting, the first of its type, comes from the world of fabric/clothing, with a Kimono by Moriguchi Kunihiko (1941-), of Japan. This was a part of an exhibition on Kimonos at Paris in 2016 from November 16 to December 17, 2016, at the House of Culture of Japan to Paris. Kunihiko is a household name in Japan and has acquired a degree of fame, described as a ‘living treasure’ of Japan.  17. Canopy, Maple Leaf Square, Toronto, Canada A pentagonal tiled canopy (inspired by the experience of walking through a forest’s dappled light) by United Visual Artists (UVA) a London-based art practice, of a 90-metre long light sculpture spanning the front facade of the Maple Leaf Square building in Toronto, Canada, of 2010. Their form, abstracted from the geometry of leaves, reflect nature. Whether the designer was familiar with the Cairo tiling is unclear; it is not mentioned on their web page, and a mail asking for further details to UVA went unanswered. Of note in the panoramic view is the famous landmark the CN Tower in the background.   © James Medcraft 18. Chair, at Monsieur Meuble, a French furniture chain store A unique sighting is of a chair, from ‘Monsieur Meuble’ a well-known French furniture store and chain of over 40 years old, with branches all over France. The chair appears to have been part of a liquidation sale. Does anyone know more on this? I have no other details.  19. Wine racks, by Grassi Pietre, for Zýmē Winery, San Pietro, Italy An unusual, and indeed unique instance, is by Grassi Pietre architects, for Zýmē Winery, of San Pietro, Italy, with the pentagons used as series of wine racks, in stone, with the wine bottles stored in a vault in a cave, as temperatures must remain constant. The use of pentagons is predicated on the logo of the company, of a wine leaf in the broad shape of a pentagon. Each pentagon measures 78 x 56 x 60 cm and weighs 85 kg.   © Daniele Domenicali 20. Ron Resch - Folded Paper Ron Resch (1939-2009) was a renowned artist, computer scientist, and applied geometrist, known for his work involving folding paper, origami tessellations and 3D polyhedrons. He famously designed the ‘Vegreville egg’, the first physical structure designed entirely with computer-aided geometric modelling software. Among his folding paper creations was a Cairo tiling, of a ‘folded mosaic’ titled ‘Bar-Bell Yellow’, possibly of 1963. For this, and other paper foldings of his, see:  21. Marquetry, by Heliot and Co, London, United Kingdom http://heliotandco.com/surface-marquetry-cairo/ 22. Coffee Table, by Monzer Hammoud, Pont des Arts, Paris, France http://www.pontdesarts.biz/   © Monzer Hammoud 23. Exhibition stand by Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK), Stuttgart, Germany https://www.dezeen.com/2009/05/20/3d2real-by-ilek-students/ 24. Coffee table, by Francesco Caracciolo di Marano and Sam Robin, founders of Robicara company, US http://robicara.com/galleries/pentagon-coffee-table/  25. Arndale Centre, Manchester, UK Another unusual instance is that of a wall installation, at the Arndale Centre, Manchester, UK. However, so far, nothing is known as to the installation, beyond that it was this year, 2017. An unexplained feature is the largely randomised dark and light arrangement, without any discernable structure.  26. Acoustic Walls, by Kamilla Lang Hermansen https://www.behance.net/gallery/273966/Pentagon 27. 'Pentagonal Framework', by Adriel Designs An interesting, and unique instance, is of a ‘pentagonal framework’ interior, on the 90m luxury motor yacht ‘Lumen’, designed by Adriel Designs, of the US, an interior design firm, for the prestigious Dutch luxury yacht builder oceAnco, although the exact circumstances as to the installation are a little hazy. John Cantu, of Nautlis3D, is also seemingly involved in the project. Upon seeking more details, a mail to Adriel Design went unanswered, although Cantu responded. Unravelling the somewhat tortuous background with so many people and institutions involved is a task in itself, and of which I largely refrain from! This being so, the background details here are subject to revision. More details are given at the link above.  28. Board Game, ‘Cairo Corridor’ by Markus Hagenauer Another unusual instance is that of a board game, titled ‘Cairo Corridor’, by Markus Hagenauer, of Germany. This is commercially available, at Nestorgames, under the auspices of Néstor Romeral Andrés:    © Markus Hagenauer29. Shelving Unit, by Alexander Pincus Alexander Pincus, an US architect, in 2013 designed a new series of steel and walnut furniture with the appropriately named ‘Cairo’ that explores a recurring hexagonal pattern. Elements include large and small display shelving, low cabinets, a credenza, and a room divider.  30. Origami, by John Szinger Another unusual instance is that from the field of origami. This instance, of 2009, is by John Szinger, of the US, an authority on origami, with books to his name, notably Animal Origami Sculpture.  31. Origami, by David Mitchell http://www.origamiheaven.com/tiles.htm
 32. Escher-like Fish Puzzle, by Angie Leslie, of ‘Curious Minds’
Another, so far unique instance, is that of an Escher-like puzzle, of fish, by Angie Leslie of the US company ‘Curious Minds’, who specialise in creating unique educational learning toys for toddlers and preschoolers. These are commercially available, at the above address. (Note that this company is not to be confused with another of the same name, in Australia). To make clear the Cairo tile aspect, I have overlaid suitable lines. As such, this is the first such instance of a puzzle Escher-style, although also see Alain Nicolas (Entry 7), where he shows Escher-like tilings without a puzzle aspect (although of course these could easily be so produced).   © Angie Leslie Page Created: 18 June 2012. Revised and enlarged subsequently Overall page created 7 August 2014, for a more streamlined section, assembling previous single pages as a miscellaneous entity 10 November 2017. Format revised, as the scope was a little too broad, with three in situ Cairo tiling aspects included (Attraction, Manufacturer, Downtown sighting), now better judged placed elsewhere as entities in their own right. 2014 Quilting/Patchwork section added 2 October 2015 Penta-graphene discovery added 17 June Natural Floors NW added 20 October Escher-like Cairo tilings by Alain Nicolas added 9 November Tamara Bistro Restaurant added 11 December 2016 IKEA Jäll tabletop ironing board added 5 January Picture Links: Pan-American games added 6 January Le Noeud Papillon, Sydney, Australia added 25 January Cushion from Macy's department store added 28 January 'Bretzel Love’ Café chair added 8 September 2017 Torus by Kenneth Peel added 23 February Kimono by Moriguchi Kunihiko added 9 June Pentagonal tiled canopy, Toronto, Canada text and pictures added 14 July Monsieur Meuble chair text and picture added 27 July Grassi Pietre for Zýmē Winery, San Pietro, Italy, text and picture added 28 July Folded paper, by Ron Resch text and picture added 26 October Marquetry, by Helio and Co, London, UK text added 31 October Coffee table by Monzer Hammoud, text and pictures added 3 November First Base Pizzeria text and link added 10 November Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK), of Stuttgart, Germany text and link added 13 November Coffee Table by Francesco Caracciolo di Marano and Sam Robin, text and pictures added 14 November Wall installation, at the Arndale Centre, Manchester, UK, text and picture added 15 November Acoustic Walls, by Kamilla Lang Hermansen, of Norway, text added 16 November Pentagonal Framework, by Adriel Designs, text and picture added 21 November Board game, 'Cairo Corridor, by Markus Hagenauer, text and pictures added 23 November Shelving unit, by Alexander Pincus, text and picture added 30 November Origami, by John Szinger, text and picture added 6 December Origami, by David Mitchell, text and picture added 19 December 2018 Escher-like fish puzzle, by Angie Leslie, text and pictures added 3 January |
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