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Clerkenwell Design Week returns to London EC1 from 20 to 22 May 2025 for its most ambitious edition yet. Now in its 14th edition, the festival transforms the historic neighbourhood into a vibrant and multidimensional showcase of contemporary design, architecture, and material innovation. Expanding its footprint across 16 exhibition venues and over 160 local showrooms, CDW 2025 reaffirms its position as a leading event on the global design calendar.
The architectural character of Clerkenwell—defined by its medieval courtyards, Georgian terraces, and Victorian warehouses—becomes the stage upon which designers engage in a dialogue between past and present. New venues such as The Charterhouse, St Bartholomew the Great, and Studio Smithfield lend a rich historical context to contemporary displays. These additions not only underscore the festival’s expanding scale but also deepen its commitment to situating design within London's layered urban fabric.
At the heart of this year's festival is a monumental public artwork by British artist Alex Chinneck, installed in Charterhouse Square. Known for his surreal manipulations of architectural form, Chinneck revisits his sculptural language in a new interactive piece that plays with the language of brickwork and architectural elevations. Crafted from salvaged steel and developed in collaboration with engineering specialists, the installation will remain on display beyond the festival, providing a lasting presence within the cityscape.
Materiality is a prevailing theme at CDW 2025. At Clerkenwell Green, the installation Brick from a Stone: Arch Revival exemplifies how traditional construction methods can be reimagined with contemporary expression. Designed by Hawkins\Brown and engineered by Webb Yates, the pavilion features two freestanding stone arches—each nearly four metres high—crafted from British sandstone and Portland stone. Made from bricks only 102 mm thick, the project celebrates the structural and aesthetic versatility of natural stone in architecture.
Another highlight is the inaugural Shaping Water design competition, which challenges participants to conceive installations inspired by the elemental properties of water. Set against the historic backdrop of St John’s Gate, the winning proposal will be realised at scale, reinforcing the festival’s role as an incubator of ideas where design meets civic imagination.
Clerkenwell Design Week continues to serve as a nexus for international design, with curated pavilions representing Scandinavian, Spanish, Austrian, Italian, and German perspectives. Meanwhile, the theme of sustainability runs throughout the festival’s offerings, whether in lighting crafted from e-waste and organic residue, or bespoke outdoor rugs that merge durability with tactile richness. These interventions reflect an evolving sensibility among designers and manufacturers toward responsible material sourcing and circular production models.
At The Charterhouse, the Conversations at Clerkenwell series returns, anchoring the intellectual programme of the week. Curated by Katie Richardson, this year’s talks include speakers such as Sabine Marcelis and Pearson Lloyd, featuring 18 live sessions over three days. The auditorium, conceived by London-based studio Kapitza, draws on historical patterns found within the Charterhouse, creating a graphic and immersive environment that echoes the layered ethos of the festival.
At its Great Sutton Street studio, London-based Conran and Partners designed an immersive window display and exhibition with Finnish lighting brand Secto Design. The window display features a triptych of themes - Forest & Materiality, Lakes & Reflection and Light & Contrast - which aim to evoke the emotions inspired by the Finnish natural environment, offering a visual journey into the country’s unique interplay of light, nature, and craftsmanship.
With Metamorphosis - The Unseen Is the Real Story, Iris Ceramica Group invites visitors on a multi-sensory journey inside its ICG Gallery. The butterfly, the very metaphor of the aesthetic quality of ceramics, becomes an emblem of metamorphosis thanks to its generative process. The brand thus invites people to reflect on the concept of perception and transformation through matter and evocative video installations created by international visual artist Lorenza Liguori.
On this occasion, ICG Gallery will present a UK market preview of Alchimia & Iris Ceramica Group's cutting-edge technological solution, developed by VBH, that redefines indoor design: a novel integration that allows ceramics to contain and hide screens and audio-video reproduction systems, in total continuity, making them appear and disappear on command.
What sets Clerkenwell Design Week apart is its integration within the urban realm. Unlike traditional fairs confined to pavilions or halls, CDW unfolds along streets, in courtyards, and within historic buildings—blurring the boundaries between exhibition and city. As visitors navigate its intricate network of venues, installations, and talks, they encounter not only the newest products or aesthetic trends, but the enduring value of spatial imagination and architectural craft.
