Architect Niko Kralj is a designer who deserves to be placed into each and every overview of European design achievements. However, those encyclopedias are mostly too short to encompass his contribution fully and objectively. This book eliminates this deficiency. The author, dr. Jasna Hrovatin, efficiently realizes the desideratum, a versatile presentation of the architect’s personality and work. An exceptionally plastic portrayal of a human being, who dedicates his efforts to a single but very demanding task, is laid in front of us. He makes every effort to design user-friendly items which can be linked into entirely recognizable ambiences.

In this book the Futura system and products from the Rex and Lupina lines are presented in detail. Moreover, it covers 18 chairs, 16 furniture systems and more than 10 other useful products, in addition to a selection of patents and research papers. Chair Rex, which is legitimately referred to as a symbol of successful industrial design and still serves as a model in industrial product design, is described in greater detail.

The design principles which Kralj considered in his work and his efforts relating to typing and modular coordination are also presented in detail in the monograph. He has always striven for a breakthrough by Slovenian design onto the international stage, and he has defended interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work. As an educator, he defended the acquisition of practical experience throughout the duration of studies, as well as university-to-industry knowledge transfer. He made efforts to bring work in labs, workshops and ateliers into an indivisible whole in order to verify theoretical findings and bring them into line with practical experiments.