The King visits The Garrison Chapel to view exhibition of innovative products with the President of Finland
His Majesty The King this afternoon visited The Garrison Chapel to see its latest exhibition, ‘New Wood: Building A Bio-Based Future’. The exhibition has been curated by the Finnish Forest Association in partnership with the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance and The King’s Foundation. His Majesty was welcomed to The Garrison Chapel by Dr Simon Sadinsky, Executive Director for Education at The King’s Foundation and Marc Palahí, CEO of the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance. His Majesty was joined at the exhibition by President Alexander Stubb of Finland and Ambassador Teemu Turunen, Finland’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
The Garrison Chapel, The King’s Foundation’s exhibition space in London, regularly hosts exhibitions of work by students and alumni of The King’s Foundation’s craft and arts programmes. The Chapel, which dates from 1852 and is located in the heart of the Chelsea Barracks, also hosts exhibitions and events by His Majesties other patronages and external organisations.
This new exhibition demonstrates the true potential of wood as a sustainable material for creating innovative products. It explores how wood is steadily replacing fossil-derived raw materials, and how bio-based alternatives are no longer experimental. From textiles and packaging to cosmetics, and car tyres, the items on display are highlighting how cutting-edge wood-based materials are transforming everyday products.
As part of the display, works from The King’s Foundation’s Snowdon School of Furniture’s CREATE programme are featured, which is based at Highgrove Gardens, Gloucestershire. The pieces exhibited are rooted in circular practices, demonstrating how innovative, responsibly sourced wood supports sustainable design. Lord Snowdon, Vice President of The King’s Foundation, who founded and inspired the Snowdon School of Furniture, was in attendance on the day.
The exhibition will be open until Friday 27th March at The Garrison Chapel.
“It was wonderful to welcome His Majesty The King and the President of Finland to The Garrison Chapel today to view the work of our King’s Foundation furniture students. These hand-crafted pieces, which are being exhibited alongside innovative products, are all focused on harmony and sustainability. At The King’s Foundation all our work is centred around the natural world, and how we can look to nature for solutions. We hope people will come and visit this exhibition and learn more about the innovative solutions being created.”
Dr Simon Sadinsky, Executive Director of Education at The King’s Foundation