  There are many different algebraic, geometric and combinatorial objects that
one can attach to a complex polynomial with distinct roots. In this article we
introduce a new object that encodes many of the existing objects that have
previously appeared in the literature. Concretely, for every complex polynomial
$p$ with $d$ distinct roots and degree at least 2, we produce a canonical
compact planar 2-complex that is a compact metric version of a tiled phase
diagram. It has a locally CAT(0) metric that is locally Euclidean away from a
finite set of interior points indexed by the critical points of $p$, and each
of its 2-cells is a metric rectangle. From this planar rectangular 2-complex
one can use metric graphs known as metric cacti and metric banyans to read off
several pieces of combinatorial data: a chain in the partition lattice, a
cyclic factorization of a d-cycle, a real noncrossing partition (also known as
a primitive d-major), and the monodromy permutations for the polynomial. This
article is the first in a series.
