Not every shelf makes history, but the Gea did. Designed by Kazuhide Takahama for Gavina in 1961, it arrived at a moment when Italian design was opening itself to new voices and ideas. Takahama, a Japanese architect who had recently settled in Italy, brought a quiet precision to Gavina’s radical spirit, creating pieces that balanced restraint with modern confidence. The Gea shelf is part of that dialogue — storage, yes, but also a glimpse of how international collaboration was reshaping Italian design in the early 1960s.