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Brussels Just Built the World’s Most Beautiful Airport Lounge

Most airport lounges feel designed by people who never fly. Uniform lighting. Sterile seating. An atmosphere engineered to keep you emotionally neutral. But The View at Brussels Airport breaks that rhythm. Designed by JPA Design, this novel lounge is a lived-in statement about Brussels itself, and they did it with remarkable control over detail, material, and spatial rhythm.

The showstopper lies overhead. A sprawling stained-glass skylight curves across the ceiling, made by local glass maestros Atelier Mestdagh, the same studio known for restoring sacred cathedrals. The form is elliptical, floating above the central bar like a suspended time capsule from the Art Nouveau movement. The colors are muted but deliberate. Four textures of glass play with daylight and LEDs alike. It’s both decorative and structural, anchoring the entire layout around a visual axis.

Designer: JPA Design

The bar beneath it is a curve of blond timber, backed with soft warm light and flanked by plum velvet stools that match the palette without duplicating it. The geometry is disciplined. No jagged lines. Everything flows. Booth seating lines one side, tucked in rows of two, each one semi-private with built-in acoustic shielding and curved lines that soften the strict symmetry of the plan.

This lounge spans over 2,000 square meters. It is organized but never rigid. Zones include dining, social, work, and relaxation areas, but the transitions are handled with subtle material shifts instead of partitions. Carpet blends into herringbone wood. Sheer curtains diffuse light across modular furniture groupings that invite both solo and group use. Chairs are deep, low-slung, upholstered in a mix of boucle, velvet, and woven blends. Nothing off-the-shelf. Every piece looks like it was specified, not selected.

One circular planter bench sits dead center in the relaxation zone, upholstered in a rose-red tone that picks up the hue from the booths without repeating it verbatim. It creates a soft pivot point for the space. Nearby, black-framed glass walls mark out “The Study,” a quiet area lined with armchairs, soft table lamps, and power access tucked out of sight. No screaming signage. No high-gloss branding. Just function, handled with discipline.

The View is now open to travelers visiting the Brussels Airport, marking what JPA Design calls a new era in premium travel experiences.

The post Brussels Just Built the World’s Most Beautiful Airport Lounge first appeared on Yanko Design.

This 7-in-1 Retro Radio Might Outlast Your Smartphone, and That’s Actually the Point

There was a time when all a radio needed was a solid signal and a reassuring click of the dial. No apps. No algorithmic nudges. Just music, news, and the soft glow of analog simplicity. The RetroWave 7-in-1 Radio, available now for $89, revives that spirit not as a novelty, but as a quiet rebellion against disposable tech and digital dependency.

The Speaker That Replaced My Smart Devices

At first glance, the RetroWave feels like a nostalgic accent piece, something you’d place on a shelf for its throwback charm. But over time, it became more than that. It replaced my Bluetooth speaker, my desk clock, my flashlight, and, unexpectedly, my emergency prep kit.

It plays jazz in the morning. It charges my phone when the power is out. It wakes me up for early flights and doubles as a flashlight during summer storms. In a world of purpose-built gadgets, the RetroWave is refreshingly multipurpose. And when I realized the RetroWave 7-in-1 did the job of four different devices—all for under $90—it stopped feeling like a novelty and started feeling essential.

Form Meets Functionality: 7 Surprising Capabilities

AM/FM/SW Radio
No Wi-Fi? No problem. This dial still gets you what matters.

Bluetooth & MP3 Playback
Stream your playlists or play music directly from a microSD card or USB drive.

Flashlight & SOS Alarm
Practical features that prove their worth when the lights go out.

Hand-Crank & Solar Charging
When outlets aren’t an option, this radio keeps going.

Built-in Power Bank (2000mAh)
Enough to keep your phone alive in a pinch.

Compact Yet Durable
Light enough to pack. Strong enough to rely on.

All-in-One Simplicity
A device that wears many hats without needing a software update.

Why “Retro” Might Be the Most Future-Proof Design

We often equate progress with connectivity. But when systems fail or you simply want to unplug, tools like the RetroWave remind us that resilience is the real innovation.

With power outages making headlines this summer and a wave of TikToks spotlighting how smart tech fails when the grid goes down, devices like this are quietly making a comeback.

Unlike smart speakers that fall silent during a blackout or phones that drain within hours, this radio keeps playing, shining, and helping you stay connected. It never asks for a software patch or internet connection.

It’s not about going backward. It’s about reclaiming a sense of independence.

Design That Resonates

The RetroWave looks like something you’d find behind the bar of a Tokyo jazz lounge in the late ’70s, but its finishes are clean and contemporary. The dial is tactile, the proportions are compact yet confident, and when lit, the soft amber glow feels almost cinematic.

This is an object that invites interaction not because it’s flashy, but because it’s thoughtful. People notice it. They ask about it. Then they’re surprised when it does more than look good.

Who It’s For

Design Enthusiasts
A conversation piece that doesn’t just sit pretty. It performs.

Preparedness-Minded Individuals
It earns its place in your emergency kit and in your daily routine.

Travelers & Minimalists
Seven essential tools in one elegant form, ready to go anywhere.

The Quiet Power of Owning Fewer, Better Things

You don’t realize how fragile the “smart” life is until the power cuts, the apps glitch, or you just want to enjoy music without being tracked. The RetroWave doesn’t ping you with reminders. It doesn’t update. It simply works, exactly as it should.

Designed for simplicity, built for resilience, the RetroWave 7-in-1 is available now for $89.

The post This 7-in-1 Retro Radio Might Outlast Your Smartphone, and That’s Actually the Point first appeared on Yanko Design.

Rimowa and Vitra collaborate on a stool that looks like (expensive) luggage

Rimowa and Vitra have made names for themselves in their respective fields, namely luggage and furniture. Those two rarely come together and yet we’re getting an unexpected collaboration between the two, transforming a luggage specialist’s ethos into a striking piece of limited edition masterpiece of a furniture.

The Rimowa x Vitra Aluminum Stool is able to bring together the best of their worlds, blending mobility, storage, and sustainability into one sculptural form. It is crafted from Rimowa’s signature anodized, grooved aluminum—the same armor-like shell that has defined the brand’s suitcases since the 1930s. Underneath the cushioned lid lies 59 liters of interior space, lined with Vitra’s eco‑friendly Laser RE fabric, complete with optional modular leather dividers to organize your essentials.

Designers: Rimowa x Vitra

This stool is also equipped with Rimowa’s four-direction Multiwheel® system, a signature feature originally designed for effortless luggage mobility. Here, it has been cleverly adapted to suit a home environment, allowing the stool to glide smoothly in any direction with minimal effort. This innovative design choice embodies the seamless fusion of rugged travel utility and refined domestic design, bringing the best of both worlds into a single, functional piece. Whether you’re repositioning it in your living room, studio, or office, the stool moves gracefully across various surfaces without scratching or resistance. And for moments when stability is essential, such as using it for extra seating or as a side table, the integrated wheel locks ensure it stays firmly in place.

With its cube-like proportions, pastel-cushioned top, and grooved aluminum sheen, the stool fits beautifully in modernist and Brutalist interiors or what they call a “future design classic”. Meanwhile, Vitra’s Laser RE upholstery, made from recycled fibers, ensures both durability and environmental responsibility. This is actually Rimowa’s first widely available entry into the home-furniture arena so if you’re a fan of the brand, then you will probably want to have one. However, there will only be 1,000 units of this stool available worldwide. And with a price tag of $2,700, it will indeed be a rare gem for those who have spare change and the opportunity to get this.

The Aluminum Stool is more than a stylish footnote—it represents a compelling case of cross-category innovation. Rimowa leverages its hallmark structural technology to pioneer a new chapter in home interiors, while Vitra injects sustainability and furniture expertise. The result? A conversation-starting object that’s equally at home in a Milan showroom or a chic Berlin loft. It reimagines what a piece of furniture can be and bridges the gap between travel and home, art and utility, luxury and responsibility.

The post Rimowa and Vitra collaborate on a stool that looks like (expensive) luggage first appeared on Yanko Design.