Paper folds: architecture unfolds. When Paper Lounge first unfurled its honey-comb benches in our studio we witnessed furniture behaving like origami with super-powers. A concertina of FSC-certified kraft paper snapped from book-thin to bench-strong in a single sweep, magnetised edges kissing closed to create a sculptural curve that carried five designers without a tremor. The secret lies in geometry: thousands of interlocking hexagons distribute weight while inviting touch, conversation and delight.

That same alchemy headlines Clerkenwell Design Week, 20 – 22 May 2025. For the first time Paper Lounge partners with CDW, supplying every seat and the fluid, foldable backdrop for Mix Morning Sessions inside the new Studio Smithfield theatre. Architects, interior innovators and hospitality visionaries can begin each day literally supported by sustainable design, every debate about future spaces echoed by furniture that can transform itself in seconds. 

Step beyond the talks and you’ll discover Paper Lounge’s stand—an immersive paper landscape where sofas, poseur tables and colour-popped stools prove that low-carbon can still be high-style. Visitors can flip a divider-wall, spin a pillar or compress an eight-foot bench to the thickness of a magazine; the tactility turns curious glances into wide-eyed grins. For specifiers it solves real constraints: rapid installs within heritage fabric, lightning-fast resets between workshops and reception setups, pop-up launches, and evening receptions.

Months of prototyping have produced hues that harmonise with Clerkenwell’s brick lanes and Smithfield’s iron ribs, so theatre merges seamlessly into stand. By closing night every guest will have sat on, leaned against, or photographed Paper Lounge furniture, carrying its unfolding story back to workplaces, hotels and homes worldwide.

Sometimes the most radical step a designer can take is to choose paper—especially at London’s definitive design festival, where imagination is the only true measure of strength. And the applause will echo.ve design festival, where imagination is the only true measure of strength. And the applause will echo.