After graduating in architecture at Milan Politecnico, Franco Albini worked simultaneously in fields of furniture, product design, architecture, urban planning and interior design. His sentiments as a rationalist architect translated into remarkably transparent furniture designs, which display a knowledgeable use of materials while presenting their internal structure and processes of production.

With glass, chrome-plated steel and painted wood, Franco Albini's 1958 floating pedestal desk demonstrates a commitment to both modernism and traditional artisanship by utilizing raw materials.