Miguel Cornejo

Miguel Cornejo founded, together with Christelle Avenier, Avenier Cornejo Architectes in Paris in 2008, following their graduation from ENSA Paris-Malaquais and professional experiences with Mathias Klotz in Santiago and Douglas Deremer Architect in San Francisco. The practice quickly gained international recognition and was selected as one of the “Europe 40 under 40” architecture firms in 2014, the same year they received their first nomination for the Équerre d’Argent.

The studio develops projects mainly focused on housing, collective living, children’s facilities, and public architecture, with work across Greater Paris and several French cities including Toulouse, Lille, Nantes, and Marseille. Their approach is characterized by an inventive and reflective methodology that responds to the complexities of the urban fabric while reinforcing the human scale of inhabitation.

Among the office’s most recognized projects are the 38 social housing units in Clichy-la-Garenne, awarded the Architectural Review Emerging Architecture Award in 2017, and the Rue Danton housing project in Pantin, which received both an Équerre d’Argent nomination in 2019 and the Brick Award 22 in the category “Living Together.” In 2022, the practice also received the Housing Prize awarded by the Académie d’Architecture and the Ordre des Architectes. That same year, Christelle Avenier was awarded the Woman Architect Prize and later became a member of the Académie d’Architecture in 2024.

Alongside their professional work, Christelle Avenier and Miguel Cornejo have developed an extensive academic career, teaching and lecturing at institutions including Technische Universität Wien, ENSA Paris-Malaquais, École Spéciale d’Architecture Paris, the University of Azuay in Ecuador, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and ETH Zürich.

The work of the studio has been exhibited internationally in Paris (“Habiter plus habiter mieux”, Pavillon de l’Arsenal), London (“Social Housing – New European Projects”, RIBA), and New York (AIA NY Center for Architecture).