Massimiliano Malagò imagines Literary narratives as Furniture
On the Calculation of Volume examines how literature, domestic space, and urban living conditions informed the renovation of a Greenpoint apartment in New York. Developed by architect Massimiliano Malagò in collaboration with client Kathleen Pongrace, the project translates themes of repetition, storage, time, and permanence into a series of domestic objects and spatial interventions shaped by the realities of contemporary city life. The renovation emerged through conversations surrounding the pressures of inhabiting New York, where increasing housing costs, limited space, and constant urban transformation influence everyday domestic conditions. Pongrace, formerly director of marketing for the Strand Bookstore, required additional storage for an expanding personal library, prompting the project to address both practical spatial constraints and broader reflections on accumulation and survival within dense urban environments.
Literary references became central to the conceptual framework of the design. Solvej Balle’s On the Calculation of Volume I, in which the protagonist repeatedly relives the same day, informed ideas of cyclical routines and temporal repetition associated with life in New York. Simone de Beauvoir’s Tous les hommes sont mortels introduced themes of permanence, loss, and the experience of outliving changing social and urban conditions. These narratives were translated into furniture pieces that operate simultaneously as functional domestic objects and material studies of time, attachment, and urban continuity. A series of chairs designed for the apartment combines ceramic tile, plywood, aluminum storage components, and bio-synthetic foam. The ceramic bases reference the glazed terra-cotta facades, subway tiles, and utilitarian surfaces associated with New York architecture, while also responding to the practical requirements of domestic life, including durability against wear caused by the client’s cat.
all images courtesy of Massimiliano Malagò
Chairs Balance Time, Spatial Accumulation, and Urban Living
Several chairs are organized around the contrast between durable and temporary materials. Ceramic structures appear softened or partially liquefied, with tiled surfaces forming droplet-like geometries that reference the accumulation and blurring of time. In contrast, foam seating elements are intended to deteriorate gradually through use, introducing a material distinction between permanence and decay. One chair incorporates cavities for flowers, adding a further temporal layer through living organic elements.
Storage is integrated directly into the furniture through concealed compartments, metal brackets, and slide-in pockets, reinforcing the project’s focus on spatial accumulation within compact domestic interiors. Another chair incorporates references to the architectural vernacular of Greenpoint and Williamsburg while introducing openings beneath the seat that allow space for the client’s cat to inhabit the object.
Across the project, developed by designer Massimiliano Malagò, furniture becomes a framework for examining how domestic objects absorb the psychological and spatial conditions of urban living. Through ceramic surfaces, layered materials, integrated storage, and references to literature, Mania New Yorkea positions the apartment interior as a reflection on repetition, adaptation, and the negotiation of space within New York City.
ceramic tile surfaces reference New York’s glazed architectural facades
furniture pieces translate literary narratives into domestic objects
bio-synthetic foam contrasts with durable ceramic structures
droplet-like tiled geometries evoke the blurring of time
concealed storage compartments are integrated into the furniture
the project reflects the spatial pressures of contemporary New York living
