Highlights at Clerkenwell Design Week 2026: Day 1
Every day, Design Milk editors bring you the best to see, learn and do during the UK’s leading design festival. These are our picks for Tuesday, May 19.
Editors’ Choice | Speeches | All Day Happenings | Showroom events | Products
EDITORS’ PICK:
Clerkenwell Design Awards at Haberdasher’s Hall
The Clerkenwell Design Week Awards celebrate the most innovative, visionary products and, new for 2026, the people who are shaping the future of design. Discover this year’s winners at a ceremony hosted by AJ Paron, EVP and Design Futurist, SANDOW, and Joseph P. Sgambati, Associate Editor, Design Milk. Honorees will receive a special award created in partnership with the American Hardwood Export Council.
17:00 – 18:00
RSVP here
DISCUSSIONS:
Beyond the Spectrum: Designing for Four Cognitive Profiles of Autism
A practical framework for moving neuro-inclusive planning from intention to precision. This session introduces four distinct cognitive profiles and their associated sensory needs, offering designers a more nuanced and practical way to approach neurointegration.
May 19, 2026
11:00 – 12:00
Craft Collaborations: Cross-Pollinate Designers and Artisans
Collaborations between contemporary designers and skilled fabricators are redefining authorship and sustainability. This discussion highlights how craft is evolving as a driver of innovation rather than nostalgia, bringing new value to the design process.
May 19, 2026
12:00 – 13:00
Immersive Spaces: Technology, Empathy & Human Experience
Immersive technology is reshaping audiences, workplaces and cultural environments — from spectacle to accountability. This talk explores how designers create empathy through multisensory environments, leveraging artificial intelligence and spatial computing to shape more responsive built experiences.
May 19, 2026
13:00 – 14:00
The Art of the Earth
Natural stone is more than a surface material – it conveys memory, emotion, texture and a deep connection to place. Join Design Milk and Aria Stone Gallery for a conversation exploring how designers are using stone to create spaces that feel grounded, aesthetic and emotional.
May 19, 2026
14:00 – 15:00
Future Nostalgia: Reinventing Materials
Reuse, memory and low-carbon innovation are reshaping material culture in the UK and beyond. This session examines how circularity and adaptive reuse are influencing the next generation of material thinking.
May 19, 2026
15:00 – 16:00
FINALLY
Foundations in Flow
Foundations in Flow is a sustainable, playful and immersive representation of St John’s Gate, creating a moment of respite for locals to sit and enjoy the wonders of the arch. It encourages a moment of pause to appreciate Clerkenwell’s unique architecture while re-enacting the use of public space. Foundations in Flow is a collaboration between Magnus Mulvany, Gabi Spangenthal and Julio Manchón Campillo. Sponsors: Brett Martin, Shoots, Second Home. LEARN MORE
His pulse becomes
A vibrant outdoor installation in Haberdasher’s Hall explores the cyclical nature of death, rebirth and life. Derived from the hourglass shape, cell mitosis and the concept of yin-yang, two opposing crescent shells representing dependence and balance are seen in tension. LEARN MORE
INTERIORS FROM SPAIN presents The Show
El Salón is a Spanish design installation at the Museum of the Order of Saint John. Produced by Disegno, the London-based design magazine, and taking place in the Chapter Hall of the Museum of the Order of St. John, the installation will engage with the historic fabric of the building while offering an impressive platform for contemporary Spanish design. Participating brands: A Emotional Light, Ape Grupo, BPM Lighting, Huguet, Ideatec, Joquer, RS Barcelona, Sanycces and Sellex. LEARN MORE
The Luxury Edit
The Luxury Edit showcases leading contemporary design brands from around the world, showcasing products made for premium commercial interiors in a new home in the luxury courtyard of Haberdashers’ Hall. LEARN MORE
EXHIBITION EVENTS
Arper Annual Cocktail Party
Join us to celebrate CDW at a special cocktail evening in our showroom! A moment to (RE)CONNECT – through design, new perspectives and inspiring conversations. Please note that booking is essential. Please answer.
18:00 to 21:00
Arper UK Ltd, 11 Clerkenwell Road, Clerkenwell, London EC1M 5PA
RSVP
The U-Type Chair by Barber & Osgerby for Kettal
Because the seat matters | Creativity, Collaboration and Contemporary Design with Jay Osgerby
As part of Clerkenwell Design Week 2026, Kettal presents ‘Because Sit Happens’, a special conversation with Jay Osgerby that explores contemporary design practice, creative process and collaboration through the evolving relationship between furniture, architecture and the environments we inhabit. Limited capacity. RSVP required.
17:30 to 18:30
Kettal, Paulton House, 8 Shepherdess Walk, Clerkenwell, London N1 7LB
Ask here
Mary Portas in conversation with Katie Treggiden. Reuse Reframed
Join Milliken for Reuse, Reframed – an evening of sharp conversation with Mary Portas, hosted by design journalist Katie Treggiden. Together, they will challenge the way the interiors industry values repurposing, asking what it takes to make the already loved desirable, reliable and commercially viable – without sacrificing creativity or quality.
18:30 to 19:30
Milliken Floors, 5 Berry Street, Clerkenwell, London EC1V 0AA
RSVP
PRODUCTS
Running Volta Sink
Designer Yves Behar created VOLTA. A Saphirkeramik washbasin, which presents water in the bathroom in a completely new way.
https://www.laufen.com/collections/product-solutions/volta
Parador Harmony
Each of the seven surfaces in this flooring collection draws inspiration from the tactile signatures of the world around us and reinterprets them through technical craftsmanship and contemporary design language.
https://parador.de/en/harmonia-collection
Expormim Place
Inspired by the work of the Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida, this outdoor collection by Javier Pastor transforms the void into a habitable and everyday gesture.
https://www.expormim.com/us/outdoor-furniture/families/leku/
Chelsom Portables
Portables is a curated collection of battery-operated wireless table lamps specially designed for fast-paced hospitality environments.
https://chelsom.co.uk/portables-by-chelsom-coming-soon/
Cosentino Hatched
The next generation of mineral surfaces with multi-layered 3D integrated body and superior heat resistance.
https://www.cosentino.com/eclos/
Mdd Linka
Linka was designed with the changing needs of users in mind. The sections of the sofa can be freely combined to create arrangements adapted to the requirements of the moment and to the interior decoration.
https://mdd.eu/en/seating/linka-sofa/
