TDUK SupplyingTimber Issue 8 DIGITAL - Magazine - Page 54
BUILDING POSSIBILITIES WITH
LOW-WASTE GALLERY DISPLAYS
utting on an art
exhibition can
traditionally be an
incredibly wasteful
process, consuming a large
number of resources. This
is particularly true of sets
and temporary installations,
which usually end up in
land昀椀lls when a show has
run its course. It’s a problem
that specialist gallery and
museum furniture designer
Plaey wanted to tackle headon.
Together with long-time
timber, panels and décor
partner, James Latham, Plaey
created a new modular plinth
system which, the company
hopes, will end the throwaway
culture associated with art
exhibitions.
The system is stackable,
meaning each component can
be neatly slotted together and
P
stored safely when not in use,
requiring minimal space.
Plaey founder Matt Kelly
says: “I wanted to address the
challenges associated with art
exhibition and gallery plinths,
particularly the o昀昀cuts and
waste created during their
production and how they are
regularly scrapped at endof-life. It was about looking
beyond single-use to develop a
circular solution.
"My lightbulb moment came
when my son and I were playing
with a well-known brand of
interconnecting building blocks.
I thought about how this
could be applied to temporary
furniture and installations, to
achieve something agile and
scalable that's easy to assemble
and store.”
When the James Latham
panels team was briefed on the
project, they realised it 昀椀tted
SUPPLYING TIMBER
54
with their own commitment to
sustainability, and were keen to
be involved in.
Finding the perfect 昀椀t
Plaey decided to use
Valchromat, a premium fullcolour MDF that combines the
visual neutrality, sustainability,
strength and workability
required for this niche
application.
Plaey was familiar with
Valchromat’s qualities, having
previously used it on a number
of premium furniture pieces.
Its light weight, durability, and
attractive appearance made it
the perfect material, delivering
a functional blank canvas that
enables creative freedom while
meeting the rigorous demands
of exhibition spaces.
The consistency of colour
throughout each panel,
combined with the ultra-smooth
SPRING 2025
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USING TIMBER
James Latham introduces Valchromat White Pearl to help realise Plaey’s
innovative interlocking modular plinth system
© James
Latham.
Valchromat
white pearl
MDF has helped
create a brand
new modular
plinth system for
museums and
galleries.
