Architect Robert Garneau didn’t have to look far for inspiration when he was asked to renovate a modest apartment inside a prewar building in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. A founding partner of Architecture Workshop PC, a boutique design firm noted for balancing elegance with efficiency, Garneau spent a decade living in the building some 20 years earlier and knew virtually every architectural detail of the residence without ever setting foot inside.
By the time he toured the space—a 400-square-foot jewel box on the 18th floor—the architect had already envisioned creating a modern enclave that carried a sophisticated dialogue with the dwelling’s 1920s prewar charm. And despite the deep knowledge of the structure, he says he didn’t approach the project with too many preconceived notions. “Notwithstanding everything I already knew about the building, it was really a balancing of the old and new that lies at the core of the project,” explains Garneau, a small-space expert whose firm has carved out a niche embracing projects with compact footprints. “We wanted to maintain its rich character, but also offer the client a cozy, more contemporary space.”
That client is television executive Tracy Underwood, a former president at ABC Signature who recently transitioned into an exclusive producing gig at 20th Television, a production company owned by Disney Television Studios. Based in Los Angeles, she purchased the apartment in 2021 as pied-à-terre for her frequent trips to New York City. At the time, she was living inside a Spanish bungalow-style home in LA’s Silver Lake community and said she wanted the interior aesthetics of the Manhattan apartment to be a departure from her life on the West Coast.
