Active go to Clerkenwell

Clerkenwell Design Week opened its doors for its eighth year this May to an abundance of architects, designers and furniture lovers, keen to brush up on the latest furniture trends and design concepts on the market.

Known for having “more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet!", Clerkenwell hosts a range of showroom rooms visits, exhibitions and discussions. Over the course of this 3-day event, trade professionals are able to explore and celebrate the leading UK and International design brands, as well as the rich and diverse culture surrounding it.

This year, the Active team went en masse to explore the latest and upcoming furniture trends emerging in today's workplace, as well as catching up with existing furniture partners to see the new products they have to offer.

So, what did we find at this year's Clerkenwell Design Week?

This year's Design week certainly had a lot to offer. With a range of eight different exhibition venues across the area, Clerkenwell showcases the leading furniture, lighting, textiles, surface and product design from around the world. In addition to this, each year Clerkenwell presents new design projects and street spectacles commissioned specially for the festival. This included pieces like Kaleidoscope by Karndean Design Flooring, The Playbox by Shape London & Fraher Architects and our favourite BuzziJungle…

Throughout the array of showrooms, exhibitions and discussions there were three key design concepts that stood out. These included biophilic design, acoustic solutions and privacy in the workplace…

Biophilia is nothing new in today's office design scene, in fact it is becoming increasingly popular in today's workplace with many companies adopting the trend in order to encourage productivity and a sense of wellbeing amongst their staff. Clerkenwell did not fail to showcase this, with a number of stalls offering office plants, furniture made out of natural materials and a variety of talks and discussions around the benefits of nature in the workplace as well as how to properly maintain and care your office plants.

Designing for acoustics - have you considered your lighting?

Across Clerkenwell's numerous showrooms we saw an abundance of furniture designed around the acoustics of the workplace. From acoustic paneling to seating and even lighting!

BuzziSpace, a popular choice for accoustic furnishings showcased a range of acoustic solutions, furniture, lighting and fabrics, with pieces for the workplace, home as well as other collaborative areas including the outdoors. One area BuzziSpace is focusing on in particular going forward is acoustic lighting solutions. In order to combat noise created by the above floors in a multistory office building, BuzziSpace have been creating a range of lamp shades that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also had sound absorbing qualities. Products like the BuzziLight use strips of sound absorbing felt attached to a steel frame to create a decorative lighting effect, allowing the light to take on different shapes. A range of sound absorbing light shades are available as well as hanging wall panels. Other great acoustic solutions were found in Boss Design and Elite Office Furniture.

Privacy please…

Another trend we saw throughout Clerkenwell was the theme of privacy and the use of furniture to create quiet work spaces and areas where workers could retreat. In a busy office, noise can severely affect productivity and therefore it is vital that furniture companies are doing something to tackle the issue. We saw a variety of different furniture used to do this across a number of showrooms throughout Clerkenwell including dedicated phone booths in Boss Design, acoustically designed meeting pods that although not completely closed off, offered a space of privacy and a sense of shelter from the rest of the office.

Our Favourite piece…

Our favourite piece we found at the SB Seating Showroom, home to brands including HAG, RH, RBM and BMA and showcasing a range of specialist Scandinavian seating. Upon entering the showroom, we were immediately drawn to the stunning patterns created in the new RBM & FEATHR collection.

Made from velvet and linen fabrics to add a creative finish, the coverings have been designed by artists from the roster of Finnish wallpaper and fabric house FEATHR to create something quite spectacular and visually brilliant!

Combining the classic Scandinavian RBM Noor chair with FEATHR's contemporary artist-made fabrics, the range is fully customizable. With a choice of over 100 different artist-made FEATHR fabric designs to choose from, as well as a range of materials and finishes, this chair can be personalised in order to create a range of looks in the workplace. Not only does this new range look great but it also has a low carbon footprint and is made using low-impact, recyclable and recycled materials.

For more information on the latest office furniture available, please get in touch with a member of our team on 0845 130 9066 or fill out our contact form and we will get in touch as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading!

The Active team.