Header: Foundations in Flow, Photo credit: CDW
Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW), one of the best-known design events in the UK, will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2026. For its 15th edition, the festival will host hundreds of exhibitors in more than 16 exhibition venues and 200 showrooms. Taking place across the Clerkenwell area in London, also known under its postal code EC1, the upcoming event will be focused on the topics of sustainability and sound. Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW) will host Design Interventions, a curated series of large-scale installations scattered around venues, streets, and public green spaces.
The Canary Clock Tower
The fair will host an array of sustainable designs that champion recyclability and circular product design. The Canary Clock Tower by George King Architects is among those designs. Inspired by the area’s long tradition of clockmaking, the tall sculptural installation displays air quality and pollution through analogue dials made from recycled plastic offcuts. The sustainable art piece boasts a lightweight frame of reclaimed scaffolding, a fully recyclable outer skin, and a timber base. The Caged Canary weathervane at the top is a tribute to the canary in the coal mine, reminding the visitors to consider the air they breathe. The artwork will find a permanent setting after the festival, while the plastic components will be returned to the supplier, Smile Materials, for recycling.
Recycled materials and circular furniture
BinSight Benches by French designer Alexane Quenderff are made entirely of discarded materials that are considered too difficult to recycle. Every bench contains a QR code, connected to an interactive quiz asking users to identify the waste materials used for the installation. Australian-Indonesian furniture company Reddie launched its first European showroom that hosts a collection of furniture made of reclaimed Indonesian teak salvaged from old railways and houses.
Bolon, a flooring brand from Sweden, presented fully circular Back2Bolon flooring and rugs. These products can be installed without a permanent adhesive, which enables users to return them to the plant where they can be reused to create new products, thus reducing material waste and CO2 emissions. At Commercial Interiors on the Green, Edmund Bell presents Maverick recycled blackout fabric. Designed for workplaces, public, and hospitality buildings, Maverick is made from recycled yarns. It provides dependable light control, flame-resistant properties, and a modern textured look.
Architecture of Sound
Sound is the second topic central to the CDW 2026 event. Sound-led installation Recreatura encourages visitors to experience architecture through listening. The installation explores two historic places in Clerkenwell through memories and soundscapes of residents, revealing the neighbourhood’s stories. After listening, visitors are invited to draw on ceramic tiles, a material relevant to the architectural heritage of Clerkenwell that will then be placed within a cube installation in Charterhouse Square, thus turning the memories into a spatial experience.
German-Polish acoustic booth manufacturer BOX17 debuts at CDW with a Cube 1 Stand. The stand is lined with Italian wool felt to provide biophilic warmth and a calming atmosphere. The BAUX Floating Pavilion, located near the Old Sessions House, will explore how acoustic design defines architecture and our experience of a space through the new X-FELT Floating collection.
Clerkenwell Design Week 2026 takes place across EC1, London, between May 19 and 21, 2026. By placing focus on sustainability and environmental concerns, the event confirms that circularity, progress, and elegant design can go hand in hand.
