Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW) has announced its return to London’s EC1 from 20-22 May 2025, with its 14th edition set to be the largest yet.
This year’s show will introduce three new exhibition venues. Among them are the historic medieval and Tudor buildings of The Charterhouse and Charterhouse Square, which will host artist Alex Chinneck’s new public artwork; the capital’s oldest parish church, St Bartholomew the Great; and Studio Smithfield, a Grade II-listed building above Smithfield Market in the heart of the Culture Mile.
The 2025 edition will feature a range of curated events throughout Clerkenwell, with international exhibitors and new products showcased across over 16 venues and over 160 local design showrooms.
“We’re thrilled to be back in Clerkenwell this May with our largest programme yet, both in scale and content,” says Marlon Cera-Marle, Design Division Director at Media 10, the organiser of the annual design festival. “The new venues, including some of London’s most historic landmarks, will provide a stunning backdrop for presenting some of the world’s most exciting design brands. We’re also partnering with incredible international names, from country pavilions to leading media outlets from the UK and US.”
Cera-Marle adds: “This year, we’re especially excited to announce one of our headline features: a surreal public artwork by the acclaimed British artist Alex Chinneck. As one of the most attended specification events on the A&D calendar, CDW 2025 will once again serve as a platform for discovering new trends, talent and ideas. We look forward to sharing more details about the programme in the coming months.”
Specially commissioned by CDW, Alex Chinneck’s new sculpture promises a return for the artist to sculpting with brick and playing with architectural elevations. In 2013, Chinneck completed a ‘sliding house’ in Margate, furnished with curving bricks, curving windows and a curving door. His new sculpture revisits this sculptural language while introducing an element of interactivity. It uses repurposed steel, salvaged from the demolition of another building in London, thanks to the sponsorship of Cleveland Steel.
In addition to this installation, and an array of design brands, The Charterhouse will host Conversations at Clerkenwell, the festival’s official talks series. For 2025, the talks will take place in a theatre designed by London-based design studio Kapitza. The series will include conversations with leading and emerging designers, with the full programme to be announced in the spring.
Another new addition to this year’s programming, the 27,000ft² Studio Smithfield is a creative event space and will be home to commercial and workplace interior brands during CDW, including Houzz Pro and Bandalux. Elsewhere, set within St Bartholomew the Great, a 900-year-old Grade I-listed medieval church, Church of Design will offer a new setting for modern design showcases.
In addition to the new venues, existing locations will house a variety of product-focused exhibitions.
Across all venues, CDW will feature over 350 design brands, showcasing furniture, lighting, textiles, surfaces, home accessories and product design. Confirmed exhibitors include Chelsom, Vincent Sheppard, Ethimo, Kirkby Design, Morgan, Another Country, Universal Fibers, Arte and Ultrafabrics.
More than 160 showroom partners will also host product launches, talks and workshops. These include Allermuir, Ferm Living, Bolon, Tarkett, Duravit, Hansgrohe, Ideal Standard, Secto Design, J. Adams and Co, Bert Frank, Cosentino and Viaduct.
Architects and interior designers will also have the opportunity to join guided specialist tours covering topics ranging from sustainability to emerging design talent.
