The thoughtful architecture of Avenier Cornejo

For a quarter of a century, the Paris-based architectural firm Avenier Cornejo Architectes has been realising projects that are both contextually accurate and inventive. These are constructions that provide optimal solutions while offering rational programmes. Meet two complementary personalities who together create positive architecture.

Avenier Cornejo architects was founded by Christelle Avenier and Miguel Cornejo, who met while studying at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture (ENSA or National Higher School of Architecture) in Paris Malaquais. After working for Mathias Klotz in Santiago de Chile, Douglas Deremer in San Francisco, François Roche, X-TU and Jacques Ferrier, the two architects won a project for the Électra grant (EDF) in Valparaíso, Chile. They then created a series of projects for private individuals. In 2007, they secured a public commission for a nursery and housing in Paris. Since then, the duo has amassed a multitude of projects and cultivated their expertise. This is achieved through materiality, which has become an important marker of the architecture of Avenier Cornejo architects. Let's discover some of the agency's projects together.

Dareau

In the 14th arrondissement of Paris, in the Parc-de-Montsouris district, at the intersection of Rue Dareau and Rue Émile Dubois, Avenier Cornejo has built an auditorium for the association ‘La Sirène de Paris’. Created in 1875, it is one of the oldest independent amateur harmony orchestras in the capital, and it is owner and tenant of the premises via a long-term lease. The base is topped by fifty-one housing units for the RIVP (Régie Immobilière de la Ville de Paris or Real Estate Authority of the City of Paris). It is a hybrid project that the architects delivered in June 2024. The plot is strategic, the context complex and the programme atypical. This is a complex the architects handled with skill. The result is a hybrid building that pays homage to the Art Deco constructions in the neighbourhood, not to mention its large neighbour dating from the seventies. The architects give the concrete a variety of textures: bush-hammered on the outside, patterned in the hall and smooth on the upper floors. A variety of tones, textures and sensations are thus offered to users. Exploring the various potentialities of housing, the duo has created a remarkable functional, contextual and plastic realisation in Paris.

ZAC Campus Grand Parc

In Villejuif, at the entrance to the ZAC Campus Grand Parc, Avenier Cornejo has built a social housing complex with 130 apartments for ADOMA - CDC Habitat. Due for completion in 2024, it is a rational construction located at 33, rue du Docteur Pinel. It delicately adopts the context, fitting tactfully into its urban environment. It is characterised by a facade of moulded bricks laid in the traditional way, paying homage to manual labour. While the ground floor offers generous spaces as well as bright corridors and accommodation, the upper floors, brightened up by a multitude of touches of colour, offer quality spaces to people in vulnerable situations. It is a remarkable and sophisticated work in terms of architecture, interior design and urban integration.

Sara Weill-Raynal nursing home

In Paris' 20th arrondissement, Christelle Avenier and Miguel Cornejo have completed a clever project that improves the living environment and offers great comfort to the elderly, by increasing the number of existing rooms and creating additional space. Avenier Cornejo's architecture is off the beaten track and tends to create - despite the sometimes complex situations - spaces capable of surprising. The architects used brick, which contributes to the identity of the neighbourhood. Sunshades obscure the generous openings, preserving the privacy of the users of the premises. Several spaces encourage meeting and conviviality. All the accommodation has private bathrooms and offers the best to its residents. The architects have accomplished a fine piece of work that considerably changes the old building and offers domesticity to the nursing home.

ZAC Porte de Valenciennes

In Lille, the ZAC Porte de Valenciennes will be home to a hybrid programme. It is designed by Avenier Cornejo architects in collaboration with the London-based English architecture firm KBB architects. The complex consists of five rental units, fifty social housing units, 1,000 m² of office space, as well as fifty-two intermediate rental units and 500 m² of business space on the ground floor. In addition, there are one hundred parking spaces in the superstructure. The base comprises commercial premises and car parks, raised by two residential entities. The design, which tactfully combines the three programmes on the same plot of land, makes the most of the site's qualities and offers users comfortable, spacious and bright spaces. As a result, the vast complex is located at the intersection of Boulevard de Belfort and Rue de Trévise and is a first for the English agency with multiple references. It is recognised in England for its expertise in the field of social housing. And as is also the case with Avenier Cornejo, the two agencies have produced an exemplary achievement.

Hébert

In the Hébert neighbourhood in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, Avenier Cornejo architects have joined forces with Déchelette Architecture for the construction of seventy-one dwellings under the BRS (Bail Réel Solidaire or Solidarity Ground Lease) system, a care home and a craft workshop. It is a compact complex that is intelligently organised around a lush garden. The latter constitutes a true heart of the block around which the project revolves. In terms of materials, the architects have used solid stone, which requires real expertise. Once completed, the complex will change the image of the neighbourhood.

Furniture

Christelle Avenier and Miguel Cornejo design and create the furniture, when the programme allows. A good example is the furniture that can be found in their project on Rue Daveau for the Madeleine Pelletier Residence. The bed, a table and benches are made of wood, rubber and a light metal structure. These are easily movable and combinable and all have flexible uses. Take the four-legged bench, for example, which can become a bedside table, a bed end or even a coffee table. All these elements can also be fitted into one another to free up space and adapt it to multiple configurations. Furniture design thus complements the architectural work of the agency, which excels in the design of both large pieces and small items of furniture.

Since 2000, when it won the Electra grant awarded by the EDF Foundation for ‘brownfield sites’, the agency has received a multitude of distinctions including the Prix du Logement de l’Académie d’Architecture (Housing Prize of the Academy of Architecture) in 2022. Similarly, the agency's achievements have been nominated several times for various awards, including the Equerre d'Argent award. In 2014, Miguel Cornejo won the ‘Europe 40 under 40’ award and in 2024, Christelle Avenier has just been inducted into the Academy of Architecture. The two architects are constantly invited to teach in Nantes and Paris, but also abroad, in Ecuador, Mauritius and Vienna. Do they have a desire to open up internationally? Why not, given their flawless track record!