Macau Cultural Tapestry: Unravelling a City’s Visual Identity Through Its Patterns and Textures—Digital Archive and Mapping

Cities present different personalities influenced by their physical and cultural characteristics, which work together to shape their identity. In this research project, we investigate a city’s identity through its visual and tactile components, examining how they are indissolubly linked to the urban environment. To address the research objectives, we are mapping the city’s textures and patterns, placing them within a visual terminology and identity framework, allowing us to delve into the visual character and its relationship with the urban environment, as well as how these patterns influence people’s interactions and the significance of their impact. To preserve the city’s visual character, we are documenting and categorising textures and patterns that are being corroded and some lost by the urban growth and development and the passage of time. To ensure that this data is accessible to all, we are developing a digital archive/repository that will include a variety of photography types, videos, vectorised images, icons, swatch libraries, texture and pattern libraries, keywords, historical information, of the various infrastructures, and a physical artefacts library for our students, professors, and the local community to use. These textures and patterns may be used to create prototypes and designs for the city’s visual identity and cultural heritage. We seek to emphasise the significance of the city’s visual identity in the greater cultural context while also categorising and conserving it through digital archiving and producing visual elements.