Barker Street | How MillerKnoll Is Redefining Workplace Design at Clerkenwell Design Week

At this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week, Barker Street highlighted MillerKnoll’s future-facing vision of the workplace, one shaped by adaptability, material innovation, and a growing emphasis on sustainability without compromise. Across a series of immersive installations and showroom activations in London’s Clerkenwell district, brands within the MillerKnoll Collective explored how contemporary work environments are evolving to support greater flexibility, wellbeing, and long-term performance.

Anchored within MillerKnoll London at The Sans, the “Sustainability without Compromise” exhibition highlighted how circular thinking and responsible material choices are becoming increasingly embedded across the company’s broader design philosophy. Rather than treating sustainability as a separate initiative, the installation positioned it as an integrated part of contemporary product development, visible through material innovation, manufacturing refinement, and evolving lifecycle strategies.

Across the collective, each brand contributed a distinct perspective on the future of workplace and hospitality design.

Herman Miller introduced the new Bound Sit-Stand Booth and Desking system, designed to support focused work within open-plan environments while balancing acoustic comfort and visual privacy. The system reflects a growing shift towards adaptable spaces capable of accommodating multiple work styles within a single architectural footprint.

Knoll unveiled the Konzert Collection by Paolo Dell’Elce, a refined private office system developed around flexibility, material richness, and spatial customisation. Alongside this, the brand revisited the Morrison Hannah Chair—originally designed in 1973—through a contemporary reinterpretation that preserves its original clarity while improving ergonomic performance.

Elsewhere, Colebrook Bosson Saunders presented Lana, a next-generation laptop stand combining ergonomic precision with circular design principles, while HAY transformed The Sans courtyard through an outdoor installation centred on its new Palissade Cantilever collection.

The softer, more residential direction of workplace design continued through Muuto’s preview of the Coltre Modular Sofa by Studiopepe, a sculptural seating system designed around adaptability, comfort, and fluidity. Meanwhile, NaughtOne explored material efficiency and circularity through new iterations of its Pippin Chair and the debut of the Lotti Chair by Keiji Takeuchi.

Running through each presentation was a shared emphasis on reduced environmental impact and material intelligence. From hemp-integrated surfaces and recycled content to weight-reduced components and biofoam innovations, the installations demonstrated how performance, aesthetics, and sustainability are increasingly being developed together rather than separately. Together, they reflected a broader evolution within contemporary design—one where workplaces are no longer conceived purely around efficiency, but around adaptability, wellbeing, and responsible long-term thinking.

Locally, Barker Street brings the MillerKnoll Collective to the South African market through its showrooms in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town, connecting architects, designers, and businesses with globally recognised brands shaping the future of adaptable, performance-driven workplace and hospitality environments.

Visit Barker Street for more.