Clerkenwell Design Week 2026

Last week, our 3D team headed to Clerkenwell Design Week 2026, moving through panel discussions, workshops, guided tours and showroom activations across the three days.

Across the festival, one theme was difficult to miss. Sensory design was everywhere.

This felt like a clear response to the pace of our increasingly digital lives. As people spend more time moving through screens, there is a growing appetite for spaces that feel more physical, more emotional and more human. Within retail, hospitality and workplace design, this is placing more value on texture, sound, scent, atmosphere and the details that connect with people beyond the visual.

Sensory Beings

One of the clearest conversations around this came through Sensory Beings, part of Conversations at Clerkenwell, which brought together voices from food and beverage, furniture, interiors and experience design.

Chaired by Sonia Zhuravlyova, editor and design writer at OnOffice, the panel included Sam Bompas, co founder of Bompas & Parr, Pallavi Dean, founder and creative director at Roar, Franky Rousell, founder and CEO at Jolie Studio, and Iben Wistrup Schwaner, co CEO at NORR11.

What made the discussion interesting was the way it moved past sensory design as a trend and into a more useful conversation about intention. Sensory design is often spoken about through feeling, instinct and atmosphere, but the panel questioned how far intuition can take a space on its own. A room can feel good, but it also has to work well, support the people using it and serve the purpose of the environment.

This balance between instinct and evidence felt especially relevant for commercial spaces. In retail, hospitality and workplace design, sensory choices can support dwell time, comfort, focus, movement, brand recall and emotional connection. When these choices are backed by a clear understanding of behaviour, they become more than atmosphere. They become part of how the space performs.

Memory was another strong thread. The panel explored how sensory layers can create a deeper impression than visuals alone, giving people emotional cues that help them remember a space long after they have left it. Research by Jolie Studio, cited by The Spaces, suggests that multi sensory environments can be up to 70% more memorable than visually led spaces, while Audio Branding Academy research points to sound logos being recognised up to eight times faster than visual logos. Across Clerkenwell, this felt especially relevant, with brands using audio, fragrance, materiality and immersive details to build a stronger sense of place.

The discussion also touched on culture and nostalgia, and how personal history can shape the way people respond to sensory cues. What feels warm, premium, familiar or calming can vary depending on background, geography and memory. Scandinavian design was referenced as one example, with its use of timber, natural textures and simplicity linked to long, dark Northern European winters and a desire for warmth, softness and balance within the home.

For us, the strongest takeaway was that sensory design is most powerful when it is considered from the beginning. It should have a role, a reason and a relationship to the people using the space. When handled with intention, it can influence how people feel, how they behave and what they remember.

Sound, Scent and Showroom Storytelling

At Domus, Cake Architecture radically transformed the showroom into a multidimensional installation shaped by immersion, collaboration and collective experience.

Across the three days, the space evolved through a different typology and atmosphere. Day one became a gallery, day two shifted into a listening room and day three moved into a club. This changing format gave the showroom a sense of momentum, with sound and shared experience becoming central to how people moved through and understood the space.

The audio programme added another layer to this. Each evening was curated by a different collective, with Tango, Big Ears and Shady Sisters each bringing their own approach to sound, rhythm and communal energy. From Jules Archard’s Proto/Synthesis presentations to DJ sets, sonic interventions and Jazreena Harlow’s immersive soundscapes, the installation traced a journey from proto to synthesis.

What stood out was how confidently Domus used sound to shape atmosphere. The showroom was no longer a static product environment. It became a changing social space, moving between reflection, listening and nightlife culture. In the context of Clerkenwell, this felt especially relevant, pointing to a wider appetite for grounded, sensory experiences in an increasingly digital world.

Daily talks expanded this idea further, exploring design futures, embodied photography with Evan Purdy and nightlife’s role in collective transcendence with Francesca Mamino. Together, the programme positioned sound as more than a background layer. It became a way to create mood, encourage gathering and turn the showroom into a shared experience.

During a guided tour with Material Bank, taking us through eight different showrooms, we saw the same thinking appear through product storytelling and material direction. Softer finishes, organic forms and natural references appeared throughout the route, suggesting a move towards spaces that feel more tactile, more grounded and less showroom led.

Villeroy and Boch, together with Ideal Standard, stood out for the way they placed water, wellness and sensory experience at the centre of their Clerkenwell presence. Alongside the latest bathroom collections at the London Design and Specification Centre, the brands partnered with Dezeen on Shaping Water, a programme of exhibitions, talks and installation design exploring the relationship between water, wellbeing and spatial experience.

This included Harmonic Tides, the winning installation by Arthur Mamou Mani at St John’s Gate. Formed from two undulating 3D printed walls, the installation used ripple like geometry, LED lighting and gentle music to create the feeling of moving through an underwater world.