Schiphol Pier E24

Blink Airport System benches in Schiphol's Pier E24 gate lounge, black seats with polished triangular aluminium armrests, design Richard Hutten.

Blink Airport System at Schiphol's Pier E24

Sketching an early seat design on a cardboard box: Richard Hutten, CEO Rob Brugge (left) and Pieter Kraaijenbrink

Richard Hutten, CEO Rob Brugge (left) and account manager Pieter Kraaijenbrink

Used aluminium armrests and frame parts piled in a container, recycled into new airport seats for Schiphol Pier E24

Used aluminum material is recycled in order to produce the new seats

Airport Seating System BLINK: WINNER Sustainable Design Award category of Dezeen

Blink is a plastic-free and locally-produced seating system designed for airports. It is developed and circularly produced by Lensvelt Contract bv and designed by Richard Hutten for Schiphol Airport. In order to produce Blink, the old seats at Schiphol were recycled; and the old seats became the new seats. This was done through the re-usability of products, the recycling of raw materials and using sustainable materials such as coconut fiber, wool or recycled clothing.

Richard Hutten drew the first sketch on a cardboard box during one of the first meetings with the Schiphol team, CEO Rob Brugge and Lensvelt's senior account manager Pieter Kraaijenbrink, the driving force behind this project.

Rows of black Blink seating in a Schiphol Pier E24 departure lounge, the apron visible through the glass facade

Blink is a plastic-free and locally-produced seating system designed for airports

Low view along a row of Blink seating at Schiphol Pier E24, showing the polished aluminium leg fixed to the floor

Special fastening material has been developed with M3 without the use of screws, for effortless mobility.

Moreover, recyclable aluminum is used, the upholstery is designed in a way that it can be reupholstered when flawed and we make use of bio-based table tops. The composition of this material is natural-based resin that is reinforced with natural fibers. So that after a long life cycle, it can be fully reused.

The carbon footprint of Blink is 95% less compared with similar products from competition. The main focus in the design was to create a product that was as long lasting as possible, however, should its lifecycle come to an end, we have ensured it can be stripped down and recycled again easily.