This spring, Clerkenwell Design Week will return for its eleventh edition, taking over London’s most creative district from 24th – 26th May.

Since it made its debut in 2009, CDW has become one of the UK’s leading independent design festivals, providing a welcome platform for brands to showcase their products and for the 100+ resident showrooms to open their doors to new audiences.

Clerkenwell boasts a deep layer of historical heritage, from clock making to gin distilling, along with a vibrant network of architects, designers and creatives that add a rich dimension to CDW. For 2022, the new identity for CDW has been inspired by the printing and craft industries that have traditionally been part of Clerkenwell’s creative history.

This year CDW’s festival route has been extended to include Charterhouse Square which will see Orticolario’s Delenimentum installation taking centre stage. The gigantic version of the legendary Adirondack Chair created in 1903 by the designer Thomas Lee is a playful and photo-worthy addition to this year’s show.  

Visitors can expect a show full of the latest designs, innovations and creative ideas, plus installations celebrating the fascinating history of Clerkenwell, as well as hundreds of design-led fringe events, pop-ups, workshops, talks and showroom presentations. Once again, CDW will host a series of talks in Spa Fields by leading designers and architects tackling topical and newsworthy issues.  

Across EC1, there will be nine exhibitions, in both purpose built and historical venues. New for 2022 is Covered Sponsored by RAK Ceramics, an exhibition dedicated to interior surfaces.

Also new for 2022 is Contract where visitors can view the latest products for commercial interiors. Clerkenwell’s subterranean House of Detention, which was previously a prison in the mid-19^th century will showcase Light + Rising Stars where a host of new and upcoming designers will exhibit alongside leading lighting brands.

Pop, the former cold store turned nightclub will be essential to visit hosting brand activations and immersive experiences throughout the 3 days of CDW. 

Each year CDW Presents showcases specially commissioned, site-specific street spectacles across Clerkenwell.  

In a partnership that has spanned five years, CDW will once again collaborate with Scale Rule to present the NextGen Design Pavilion. This year’s design concept for the NextGen pavilion exemplifies human impact upon the earth and in turn mankind’s responsibility to protect and shape it for better, a highly topical issue following COP26 in 2021. 

Conversations at Clerkenwell has always been a highlight of the show, with a specially designed venue in Spa Fields. Designed by Fieldwork Architects, the concept for the CDW 2022 talks space reimagines the traditional Victorian bandstand as a focal point within the park, a place for gathering, discussion, entertainment and shelter. Rather than a traditional forward facing seating arrangement, the nature of the bandstand form allows the focus point to be partially in the round and engage the audience as a discussion, rather than a presentation.

Showrooms

Growing in synergy over the eleven editions of the festival, Clerkenwell has flourished as one of London’s creative hotspots. From CDW’s humble beginnings with less than 40 participating showrooms back in 2010 to over 115 confirmed for 2022, this year’s show is truly bigger than ever before. 

Exhibitions

CDW’s exhibitions are hosted in distinctive spaces around the area linked by a route running through the centre of EC1. There are nine exhibitions, each with a different curatorial focus, ranging from cutting edge international design, to emerging talent, lighting, luxury interiors and the best of British design.