ABSTRACT
The relationship between form, familiarity and the active processes of loose fit making and dwelling are explored. First we discuss the role that form plays, when given suitable dimensions, to tie free-floating concepts to place and time. Then we examine the relationships between forms at particular scales and their incommensurability across scales. We go on to review examples of a range of forms at five different scales within the human horizon to give a loose fit topography of place through engagement, collaborative making, naming, and familiarity by everyday iterative use. At the smaller, material scale, brick and block forms are shown to encapsulate what is possible with the skills, raw materials available and intentions expressed locally. At the building element and building scales we discuss how forms such as towers, frames and layered leaf buildings are used to contain a richly diverse range of inhabitation. We then briefly introduce two other examples of tethered form: axial symmetry and conglomerate ordering; which have been employed to project the human gaze towards the neighbourhood and city scales.
