Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW) has returned to EC1 for its 14th and most ambitious edition to date, running until 22 May 2025. This year's festival showcases over 250 international exhibitors and more than 210 showroom partners across 15+ curated exhibition venues and 170 local design showrooms.
© Charles Emerson | CDW
A Week At The Knees by Alex Chinneck in Charterhouse Square.
CDW offers architects, designers, specifiers and the public a unique opportunity to explore cutting-edge innovations across furniture, lighting, kitchen and bathroom design, decorative accessories, materials, and immersive installations. Attendees can also engage in workshops, thought-provoking talks and artistic displays throughout the festival.
Headlining this year's installations is A Week At The Knees, a monumental public artwork by British sculptor Alex Chinneck, located in Charterhouse Square. Reinterpreting Chinneck's signature "bending brickwork", the 5.5m-tall, 13.5m-long rippling brick façade weighs 11.5 tonnes but remains just 15cm deep. It was constructed from 7,000 bricks and 320 metres of repurposed steel, alongside bespoke elements such as bending windows and stone detailing. The artist collaborated with Chiltern GRC, Cleveland Steel, Crittall Windows, FabSpeed and Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC. The sculpture will remain on display until early July.
In Clerkenwell Green, Brick From A Stone: Arch Revival by Albion Stone and Hutton Stone, designed by Hawkins\Brown and engineered by Webb Yates, showcases two freestanding 4m-high stone arches. One features multi-hued sandstone bricks from Hutton Stone's Scottish quarries, while the other uses Portland Stone from Albion Stone's Dorset mine. 'By using these stone bricks instead of clay-fired ones, CO₂ emissions are reduced by 66%,' the partners noted. Each arch comprises a single 102mm-thick layer of 702 bricks, underlining stone's structural and aesthetic potential.
As part of Dezeen's Shaping Water competition, supported by Villeroy & Boch and Ideal Standard, architect Arthur Mamou-Mani has created Harmonic Tides at St John's Gate. 'The winning architect, Arthur Mamou-Mani, responded with Harmonic Tides, an installation of two undulating 3D-printed walls evoking waves and inspired by natural hydrodynamic forms.' Fabricated from industrially compostable PLA bioplastic, the modular installation reflects circular design and minimal environmental impact.
Other highlights include Feel The Pull by Pixel Artworks, a magnetic light-based experience in the House of Detention vaults; Italgraniti's stone vending machines designed by Simon Astridge; and Sons of Beasley's pop-up tea and biscuit bar at Hawkins\Brown's headquarters.
Three new venues debut this year: The Charterhouse, St Bartholomew the Great (rebranded as Church of Design), and Studio Smithfield above Smithfield Market, enriching the architectural diversity of CDW's existing venues.
The Conversations at Clerkenwell talks series returns at The Charterhouse with leading voices including Sabine Marcelis, Tom Dixon, PearsonLloyd and Note Design Studio. 'Discussions explore topics ranging from colour and interior trends to heritage renewal, commercial space design and AI in design,' said series curator Katie Richardson.
New for 2025, Design Dialogues, curated by Sandow (publisher of Design Milk and Metropolis), takes place daily at Church of Design. Other talks include Mix Morning Sessions at Studio Smithfield, Darc Thoughts at Light, and Design Meets at Spa Fields.
Clerkenwell Design Week 2025 runs until 22 May across EC1.
© Will Pryce | CDW
Brick From A Stone: Arch Revival by Albion Stone and Hutton Stone on Clerkenwell Green.
More information:
Clerkenwell Design Week
www.clerkenwelldesignweek.com