In 1972, the Prague Museum of Decorative Arts held an international exhibition Design and Plastic Materials curated by Milena Lamarová. The exhibition and catalogue in both Czech and English, showcased 120 designs by artists such as Joe Colombo, Verner Panton, Oliver Morgue, inflatable objects by Quasar, and others, along with Czechoslovak designers Václav Cigler and Jiří Hofman by Miroslav Navrátil. In terms of scope and subject matter, the project was unparalleled, perhaps only the New Domestic Landscapes exhibition presented by Emilio Ambasz at MoMA in New York in 1971 was comparable. It also coined the term design for the Czech discourse.
For Lamarová a new artificial environment defined by new: "... the theme of lightness and flexibility … an invasion of new optical experiences in colour, transparency and luminosity of the surroundings." (Design and Plastics, p. 13). For the exhibition, Lamarová initiated a blow-up environment, a walk-in installation of white PVC cylinders by Václav Cigler, a visionary glass and light designer, and Vladimír Fiřt, a scientific engineer. Lightness implies mobility, floating and floating over and a new way of spatial perception.