Materiality in Practice: Why We Start With Touch

Before a single line is drawn, we build a material palette. Here's why physical samples matter more than mood boards.

Every FORM project begins the same way: not with a sketch, but with a table full of material samples. Timber, stone, metal, textile — we lay them out, hold them, feel their weight. A mood board tells you what something looks like. A material sample tells you what it feels like to be in a room. The Harlow Residence started with a piece of rammed earth from a regional supplier. That sample became the centrepiece of the entire interior palette — warm ochres, raw textures, a sense of ground.

This is the kind of thinking that underpins every FORM project. Not decoration — intention. Not style — response. Each decision is made in conversation with the project's site, brief, and materials. The result is work that feels specific, grounded, and genuinely considered.

We'll continue to share more of our thinking here. If you're interested in how design decisions get made — not just what they look like — this is the right place.