Clerkenwell Design Week

Now in its third year, Clerkenwell is still finding its feet in terms of delivering coherency and consistency in terms of its message and quality, as well as finding the balance between business and experimentation.

With over two hundred studios, London's Clerkenwell has the highest concentration of architects and designers in the whole of Europe. Add in the sixty design showrooms, the wealth of craft workshops and growing number of galleries, and the area becomes the apt location for the three-day programme of talks, exhibitions and installations that took place as part of Clerkenwell Design Week this May.

Now in its third year, Clerkenwell is part of a growing number of British design weeks alongside Cheltenham, Liverpool and the London Design Festival. Clerkenwell may be the smaller of the city's two festivals, but it is growing fast. This year saw the biggest-ever international participation of over twenty countries including Australia, Portugal and Sweden, and the number of venues to accommodate them has expanded accordingly.

These venues reflect the area's strong architectural heritage, and are one of the reasons why Clerkenwell is worth visiting. The festival's hub is the 19th century Farmiloe building, the former home of a lead and glass merchant. While the building's courtyard was largely given oven to a display of cars by Jaguar, the festival's sponsor, its interiors were transformed into shops and showrooms for brands such as Artemide, Muuto and Ligne Roset. Lighting was a dominant theme here; suspended from the roof was Beau McLellan's six-metre long Fluid chandelier, while Anthony Dickens' prototype of his Tekio modular lighting system, based on traditional Japanese paper lanterns, took up one of the windows.

Draisci Studio, <em>Spring Forest</em>, in collaboration with Fulton umbrellas. Photo by Ashley Bingham — Draisci Studio, *Spring Forest*, in collaboration with Fulton umbrellas. Photo by Ashley Bingham

Also enticing passersby in was Giles Miller Studio's archway, made up of 20,000 hexagonal walnut tiles positioned at different angles to create patterns that echoed the building's exterior decoration. The British brands present epitomised Clerkenwell's mix of new products and developments of existing ones. They included Another Country's range of products and furniture, whose elegant takes on the current naïf-craft aesthetic was also evident in one of the more notable debuts, Bethan Gray's range of solid wood, leather and marble tables for G&T, a new brand co-launched by Gray and Thomas Turner.

Attila Norbert David, part of Hungarian collective FISE, plastic and metal ring

For the second year running the House of Detention, an underground former Victorian jail, provided the setting for younger and more emerging names, such as the Hungarian collective FISE and French brand Singularité. Although the quality was not always consistent, there were some highlights amongst the subterranean cells and vaulted spaces, such as Malene Hartmann Rasmussen's playful ceramics and a collaboration between the textile designer Eleanor Ross and carpet manufacturer Antron.

Exploring the area's historic streets to visit its various exhibitions and events makes Clerkenwell an engaging design festival to experience

Aberrant Architecture, <em>Tiny Colemans Traveling Theatre</em>. Photo by Ashley Bingham — Aberrant Architecture, *Tiny Colemans Traveling Theatre*. Photo by Ashley Bingham

Equally atmospheric was The Order of St John, this year's new venue. In its light-filled chapel the Vessel Gallery continued the lighting theme with glassworks by Mylene Elliot, Nigel Coates and others. Their work also reflected the venue's emphasis on limited edition and bespoke pieces. The most striking of these were Aberrant Architecture's Devil Among the Tailors desks, a collaboration between the manufacturer Benchmark and the American Hardwood Export Council, for the Wallpaper* Handmade Exhibition at this year's Salone. Their combination of collaboration and experimentation was also seen downstairs in the crypt in Searching for Cassiopea, a series of concept chairs designed by Fabrica, the Benetton research group, for the Italian Chair District.

Beau McLellan, <em>Fluid</em> chandelier — Beau McLellan, *Fluid* chandelier

Outside of these venues, showrooms such as Miliken and Vitra drew visitors in with their engaging programmes of talks and screenings, while Haworth turned over its space to displaying a research project conducted with the RCA on the influence of theatre design on the workplace. Largely however the showrooms' offerings were more pragmatic affairs, a necessary reminder that these festivals are as much about commerce as culture.

Fabrica, <em>Searching for Cassiopeia</em> chair series — Fabrica, *Searching for Cassiopeia* chair series

More interesting fare was to be found on the festival's fringes spaces, such as Mischer'Traxler's exhibition of recent works at the Frameless gallery. Outside, the London-based Italian architect Francesco Draisici's canopy of one hundred pink, read and orange umbrellas provided shelter from the sunshine in St James' Church Garden, while the nearby St John's Square hosted a solar-powered street lamp by Ross Lovegrove for Artemide. The square was also one of the calling points for the Tiny Travelling Theatre, Aberrant Architecture's second offering, whose intimate performances drew on the area's history of street entertainment.

Daniella Koos, part of Hungarian collective FISE, bench

Exploring the area's historic streets to visit its various exhibitions and events makes Clerkenwell an engaging design festival to experience, and it was encouraging to see the ever-increasing numbers flock to this corner of London. However at just three years old, Clerkenwell is still finding its feet in terms of delivering coherency and consistency in terms of its message and quality, as well as finding the balance between business and experimentation. As the organisers start to plan next year's event, they should take note of Aberrant Architecture, whose designs are not only innovatively experimental but are also responsive to history and tradition. In the increasingly cluttered design calendar, it is arguably therefore Clerkenwell itself that provides the clues for forging the festival's future identity.

Zoltan Lubloy, part of Hungarian collective FISE, ceramics

Bethan Gray, solid wood, leather and marble tables for G&T

Anthony Dickens, <em>Tekio</em> lighting system — Anthony Dickens, *Tekio* lighting system

Clerkenwell Design Week

Now in its third year, Clerkenwell is still finding its feet in terms of delivering coherency and consistency in terms of its message and quality, as well as finding the balance between business and experimentation.

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