Clerkenwell calling

The 19-21 of May 2026 marks the 15th anniversary of Clerkenwell Design Week. Reiterating its reputation as the UK’s leading design festival, CDW 2026 presents plenty of specially curated events familiar to regular visitors, intertwined with exciting new features and venues. Set against the backdrop of one of London’s most design-rich districts, the festival brings together a compelling mix of established brands, emerging talent and creative thinkers, transforming showrooms, streets and historic venues into a vibrant, walkable showcase.

THEMES

This year, the festival is focusing on two prominent themes, sustainability and sound.

SUSTAINABILITY: CHAMPIONING CIRCULARITY

CDW 2026 is placing environmental responsibility at the centre of its programme, from recycled structures to circular product design.

• The Canary Clock Tower: the sculptural landmark by George King Architects, is inspired by Clerkenwell’s historic tradition of clockmaking. The structure embodies circularity with a lightweight frame of reclaimed scaffolding, a tactile timber base, and a fully recyclable outer skin. Once the festival is over, George King Architects will relocate the piece to a permanent public setting, with all plastic components returned to Smile Materials for full recycling.
• Alexane Quenderff: the theme of circularity is continued by the French designer with her five BinSight Benches which are made entirely from waste materials considered too difficult to recycle. She brings in an aspect of education with QR codes on each bench linking to a quiz to identify the waste materials used.
• Reddie: the progressive Australian/ Indonesian brand unveils its collection of made-to-order chairs, desks, shelving and sofas crafted from reclaimed Indonesian teak salvaged from old railways and houses.
• Back2Bolon: introduced by the Swedish flooring brand Bolon, it is a take-back initiative that makes its flooring and rugs fully circular. Products installed without permanent adhesive can be returned to Bolon’s recycling plant where they are transformed into new floors and rugs. This initiative closes the loop from design to rebirth and significantly reduces CO2 emissions compared to virgin production.
• Maverick: Edmund Bell presents a recycled blackout fabric designed for hospitality, workplace and public sector interiors. Made from recycled yarns, the fabric delivers reliable light exclusion, flame retardancy and a contemporary textured finish; demonstrating that sustainability and specification performance are no longer in conflict.

SOUND

CDW explores sound for its second theme, from immersive community installations to award-winning acoustic workplace solutions.

• Recreatura – an immersive, sound-led installation inviting visitors to reimagine architecture through listening. Two historic sites in Clerkenwell are explored through the voices, memories, and soundscapes of local residents revealing the textures and stories embedded in the neighbourhood. Listeners will respond by drawing on ceramic tiles which will be placed within a cube installation in Charterhouse Square forming a collective structure evolved from shared sounds and memories.
• BOX17- the German Polish acoustic booth manufacturer makes its CDW debut with its award-winning Cube 1 Stand. Its interior is lined with premium Italian wool felt, bringing biophilic warmth to the modern workplace.
• The BAUX Floating Pavilion – located outside the entrance to Old Sessions House, the Swedish brands new X-FELT Floating Collection will exemplify how acoustic design can shape both architecture and how we experience spaces.

CLERKENWELL CLASSICS

Once again CDW presents hundreds of brands across over two hundred showrooms and 16+ exhibition venues. Furniture, lighting, textiles, surfaces, home accessories and product design will be showcased across all the venues. UK and international design names will be featured with confirmed exhibitors including String Furniture, Moroso, Swedese, Dornbracht, Vincent Sheppard, and collections from Austria, Denmark and Italy will also return.

Showroom partners are integral to CDW. Hundreds of partners will host product launches, talks, and workshops. Confirmed showroom partners include- Actiu, Andreu World, Boss Design, Camira, Domus, HAY, Hansgrohe, Herman Miller, Humanscale, J.Adams & Co, Knoll, Muuto, Milliken, Modus, Iris Ceramica, Tarkett, and Cosentino.

Clerkenwell Design Week, like previous years, makes use of both contemporary and historic venues including:

• Old Sessions House – home to brand activations, presentations and the festival hub.
• The Charterhouse – contemporary furniture, decorative lighting and luxury finishes.
• Detail & Finishes – featuring refined luxury products and finishes in St John Priory Church.
• British Collection – taking over the whole of St James’s Church, highlighting the best British design talents and brands.
• Ceramics of Italy – hosting Italian ceramic and porcelain tile brands at a pavilion on St John’s Square. Organised by the Italian Trade Agency in collaboration with the Ceramics Association of Italy.
• Commercial Design in the Park (formerly Project) – focused on contract furniture and surface design, the venue will also host a series of talks from Commercial Interiors UK.
• Commercial Interiors on the Green (formerly Clerkenwell Green Pavilions) – contract furniture, solutions and surfaces brands from around the globe.
• Interior Hardware (formerly Elements) – dedicated to architectural hardware and finishes.
• Future Talent (formerly Platform) – spotlighting emerging design talent and companies.

NEW FOR 2026

This year’s event will feature a new curated series of large-scale installations called Design Interventions: a series of immersive and inspiring installations designed by designers and architects to challenge the perceptions of design. Positioned throughout Clerkenwell, the installations will punctuate the festival landscape and encourage exploration while creating moments of pause and reflection. From bold structural statements to more subtle, thought-provoking pieces, Design Interventions pushes design beyond purely the visual and into something more experiential, discursive and ultimately, memorable.

Additionally, 2026 boasts several new venues:

• Haberdashers’ Hall – known as The Luxury Edit during the show, it will be hosting the CDW Awards ceremony on 19 May in partnership with Design Milk. This venue will also host the talk series Design Meets featuring industry experts and leading brands. Outside The Luxury Edit will be a ‘living’ outdoor installation called The Pulse of Becoming, it explores the cyclical nature of death, rebirth and life. Chia seeds embedded in two opposing crescent shells will sprout during the festival, turning bare surfaces green.
• The Museum of the Order of St John- built in 1504, this venue is one of the great hidden treasures of London. The deeply historical venue will be home to Interiors from Spain, a platform for contemporary Spanish design produced by design journal Disegno.
• Material Source Studio – a showcase for products and materials for architects, interior designers and property professionals.
• Workplace on the Square – a platform for design brands catering to offices, located outside The Zetter Hotel.
• Alongside the new additions to the events venues, the CDW Awards will return this year with new categories. Adding to the Awards’ debut categories of 2025, including furniture, lighting, materials, and interior solutions, the awards will now include a focus on the individuals, teams and ideas challenging conventions and celebrating the creatives driving design forward today.

HIGHLIGHTS

Some exciting highlights from across the three days not to be missed:

Tuesday 19th:

• Women in Office Design – ‘Designing for Neuroinclusion and Neuroaesthetics’.
• Panel Discussion – Traditional Fit Outs Continue to Meet Today’s Needs, or Do They?
• Circularity is the New Recycling – Malgorzata Hermanowicz Sustainability & ESG Mute.
• Neuroinclusive Design by Neurodivergent Designers.

Wednesday 20th:

• Scarlet Opus – ‘How to be a Trend Forecaster’ and ‘Interior Design Trends for 2027’.
• Europe’s First Adaptable Office – Malgorzata Hermanowicz Sustainability & ESG Mute.
• Clerkenwell. Past, Present & Future.
• Rethinking Materials through Food, Design and Process.

Thursday 21st:

• Informare – ‘What Happened to Cool Britannia’.
• Beyond the Brief: Delivering Bespoke Hospitality Design.
• How Can Sound Shape Workplace and Commercial Design.
• Nurturing Spaces to Thrive with Norwegian Design.

CONCLUSION

This year’s Clerkenwell Design Week will again offer a showcase of leading designers and design brands aimed at the commercial office sector from the UK and abroad. CDW 2026 aims to be not just a celebration of aesthetics, but a working snapshot of where the office interiors industry is heading. This year’s programme leans into innovation, sustainability and collaboration, with fresh names sitting comfortably alongside established brands to create a well-rounded, future-facing line-up.

www.clerkenwelldesignweek.com