CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK 2026

Circular Design and the Architecture of Listening at Clerkenwell Design Week 2026

 

As Clerkenwell Design Week 2026 returns to EC1 from 19–21 May, the festival marks its 15th edition with a programme that feels both reflective and forward-looking.

Long established as one of the world’s most influential design gatherings, this year’s iteration sharpens its focus on two defining themes, circularity and sound, offering a timely lens through which to reconsider not just what we design, but how and why.

Sustainability takes centre stage through a series of Design Interventions and showroom activations that move beyond surface-level gestures.

 

Recreatura Immersive Sound Installation

 

Across Clerkenwell, circular design is explored through material innovation, reuse and closed loop thinking.

 

French designer Alexane Quenderff presents the BinSight Benches, crafted entirely from waste materials typically considered too difficult to recycle.

Each piece invites interaction, incorporating a QR code that challenges visitors to identify its constituent materials – turning a simple act of sitting into a moment of reflection on consumption and waste.

This commitment to circularity extends into Clerkenwell’s showrooms.

 

Reddie Cinter Chair (above) Reddie Dialogue Japara Range (below)

 

 

Reddie makes its European debut with a collection of made-to-order furniture crafted from reclaimed Indonesian teak, salvaged from disused railways and buildings.

 

Bolon Flooring.  Back2Bolon SisalDune (above image)

 

Meanwhile, Bolon introduces Back2Bolon, a take-back initiative designed to ensure its flooring products can be fully recycled into new materials, significantly reducing environmental impact.

 

Maverick Tarragon (above image)

 

Textile manufacturer Edmund Bell also contributes to the conversation with Maverick, a recycled blackout fabric that demonstrates how sustainability and high-performance specification can successfully coexist.

Alongside this, a quieter but equally compelling theme emerges: the role of sound in shaping how we experience space.

Recreatura (above image)

 

The immersive installation Recreatura invites visitors to engage with architecture through listening.

Using binaural audio, participants encounter layered soundscapes and personal narratives drawn from Clerkenwell’s historic sites, revealing stories embedded within the urban fabric.

The experience culminates in a collective act of making, as visitors translate what they hear into drawings on ceramic tiles, a homage to the area’s material heritage, which are then assembled into a growing installation in Charterhouse Square.

The result is an evolving artwork shaped by shared memory and perception.

This exploration of acoustics continues within product design.

BOX17 presents its Cube 1 Stand, an acoustic booth that brings a softer, more tactile sensibility to workplace environments using natural materials and carefully considered sound control.

 

Box17 (above image)

 

Elsewhere, the BAUX Floating Pavilion demonstrates how acoustic solutions can influence not only function but also the atmosphere and identity of a space.

Alongside these thematic explorations, a host of new product launches will unfold across EC1.

 

Foundations in Flow

Showrooms and exhibitors across EC1 will unveil new lighting, furniture and textiles throughout the three days, reinforcing the festival’s position as one of the world’s leading platforms for design.

Among the highlights, Luum introduces its Beyond the Surface collection for Teknion, joined by the Pira Display Cabinet from String Furniture and the BRAE modular sofa system by Norm Architects for EXPORMIM.

 

String Furniture, Pira clear glass display cabinet (above)

Norm Architure’s EXPORMIM (below)  photograph courtesy of Mauricio Fuertes

 

Luum – Beyond the Surface collection for Teknion (image above)

 

By foregrounding circular design principles alongside a deeper engagement with sound, Clerkenwell Design Week 2026 signals a broader shift in contemporary practice – one that prioritises sustainability, sensory awareness and meaningful interaction with the built environment.

 

 

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