In geometry, the Heesch number of a shape is the maximum number of layers of copies of the same shape that can surround it. Heesch's problem is the problem of determining the set of numbers that can be Heesch numbers. Both are named for geometer Heinrich Heesch, who found a tile with Heesch number 1 (the union of a square, equilateral triangle, and 30-60-90 right triangle) and proposed the more general problem.