His influence resulted in some of the most emblematic pieces of furniture of the 20th century.
Gavina, for whom “production is the most effective communication medium of our time, a medium that can be used as a vehicle for stupidity or for civilization,” was an aesthetic operator who succeeded in establishing a new relation between culture and industry, with mass-produced furniture and domestic and personal objects of high aesthetic and ethical value. The book is illustrated with designs by such leading creators as Marcel Breuer, the Castiglioni brothers, Kazuhide Takahama, Vico Magistretti, Carlo Scarpa, Man Ray and Sebastian Matta.