An educational charity dedicated to traditional architecture, craft skills, and sustainable built environments, founded by King Charles III.
The King's Foundation is an educational charity that teaches and advocates for the principles of traditional architecture, urban design, craft skills, and sustainable built environments. Through its programmes at Dumfries House in Ayrshire and its London base, the Foundation trains craftspeople and designers in traditional skills and methods, working in partnership with colleges, apprenticeship providers, and industry.
The Foundation's built environment programmes cover traditional architecture, urban design, landscape design, and the repair of historic buildings. Its curriculum draws on a design philosophy that emphasises human scale, harmony with place, the use of local and natural materials, and the integration of traditional craftsmanship into contemporary practice.
The Foundation also engages with planning and design policy, advocating for approaches to new development and the adaptation of historic buildings that respect local character, traditional urban form, and the long-term sustainability of the built environment.
The Foundation's built environment programmes cover traditional architecture, urban design, landscape design, and the repair of historic buildings. Its curriculum draws on a design philosophy that emphasises human scale, harmony with place, the use of local and natural materials, and the integration of traditional craftsmanship into contemporary practice.
The Foundation also engages with planning and design policy, advocating for approaches to new development and the adaptation of historic buildings that respect local character, traditional urban form, and the long-term sustainability of the built environment.
History
The King's Foundation originated from several interconnected initiatives begun by King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, in the 1980s and 1990s. The Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture, established in 1992, offered an alternative to the dominant modernist orthodoxy in architectural education, while Poundbury — the new settlement begun in 1993 on Duchy of Cornwall land in Dorchester — provided a physical demonstration of his design principles in practice.These initiatives were consolidated into The Prince's Foundation for Building Community, later renamed The Prince's Foundation. A pivotal moment came in 2007, when the then Prince led a last-minute fundraising effort to save Dumfries House in Ayrshire from sale, securing a collection of Chippendale furniture and a Category A listed house that has since become a major hub for craft skills training and community regeneration. Following King Charles's accession in 2022, the organisation became The King's Foundation.
Inspired by nature and tradition to build thriving, sustainable communities.