The exhibition reflects on how models were used in architecture and design firms that operated until the early 21st century and inform the public about the quality and the richness of Vico Magistretti archive, in which sketches, drawings, projects for objects and architectural works are supplemented by extensive photographic repertoires, collections of magazines, work models and prototypes.

Thinking with hands displays 11 models created by the Magistretti firm to design objects that eventually went into production and became part of the history of Italian design.

Design historians, designers and professional people, who actually worked with Vico Magistretti, and even a restorer have been invited to express their own personal cultural and professional point of view on the significance of the use of study models, their replacement with the latest techniques and approaches, comparisons with wooden prototypes and models, the relationship between design and business mediated through these products, and the issue of their fragility and, hence, preservation.