The history of MCL Studio began in Moreno, a municipality in the province of Buenos Aires, in 2012 when Juan and Manuel Micieli -architect and economist, respectively- formally founded this architecture and real estate development office. However, the brothers' connection with the discipline had begun much earlier.

Architecture entered the family with Eduardo Galeazzi, the maternal grandfather of the Micieli brothers, an architect originally from San Isidro, Province of Buenos Aires. It was 1958 when the Caveri, Galeazzi (Eduardo and two other sisters), and Brun families founded the Tierra Community (Comunidad Tierra) in Villa Trujui, a project led by the renowned architect Claudio Caveri, the master of Casablanquismo. They were married couples of professionals and technicians, who together built Caveri's vision: a self-constructed community on land to live a rural life, totally different from the one they had led until then. There they formed their families and raised their children. The Tierra Community, which currently operates as a technical school, became a milestone in Argentina and regional architecture.

María, Eduardo's daughter, was born in the Community. Eduardo, in turn, established his own architecture studio in Moreno. It was there that María met Alejandro Micieli, a young architect from the studio, whom she later married, and from that union, Juan (1985), María Paz (1988), and Manuel (1991) were born.

The work, your best friend

Thanks to the knowledge acquired during his time at Eduardo Galeazzi’s studio, Alejandro was able to open his own office. He did independent work, and began working mainly as an urban designer. He designed his largest works during the 20 years he worked for the public sector in the Municipality of Moreno, where he was dedicated to urban planning. Over time, he became a reference architect in the community, and also for his children on a human and professional level. Thanks to the trust and support he gave them, Juan and Manuel were able to begin their professional journey at a very young age, gaining their first experiences while still studying. They recall a wise and accurate piece of advice they received from him: “The work is your best friend,” a maxim that inspired them to develop a work methodology focused on the materialization of projects without losing focus on the greater objective: achieving quality architecture while respecting time and budget.

Jacinto Chiclana

Through Alejandro, Juan, who was an advanced architecture student at FADU-UBA, met a real estate agent who was looking to develop an office building that was later called K41. Juan, together with Alejandro, created the architectural project. A couple of years later, K41 would end up being developed by MCL, becoming one of its most emblematic projects.

These same real estate agents offered Juan a parcel lot on a corner of Chiclana street in Moreno. He managed to get a friend and some acquaintances to join as investors by buying the land. He realized that it was an opportunity to put into practice the model of an “self-managing architect of his own work” that he had met in Paris during a study trip. With the land, he designed a housing project and brought in Manuel, who was studying economics at the UBA and was 20 years old, to handle the pre-sale and oversee the work. They were not looking to make a profit as developers; instead, they aimed to collect professional fees and have an important project that would pave the way for more opportunities. They sold all the square meters within a few months to neighbors, family, local merchants and friends of the neighborhood, who became their first investors. On November 15th, 2012, they established the trust, a date they consider the beginning of MCL Studio.

This first major challenge marked a turning point in his career, as from then on growth was exponential. The work was completed in less than two years, having sold the entire building before starting.

The change of scale

Three months after starting JCH, they were offered a large plot of land in the same area. Thus, they began their second project, EVL, a multi-story residential building.

Between 2015 and 2017, the studio began to acquire another dimension, covering the areas of design, administration and construction. In a short time, various projects emerged, with nearly 300 people working in parallel on different sites.

The latest development in Moreno was COPA (2018-2021), one of MCL Studio's most important works, with 7,200m2 of housing. With a large open area around which the residences are organized, it is built in common brick, the traditional material of the area and proposes a community-oriented and social lifestyle.

COPA was also featured in the most important specialized media at both national and international levels, granting the studio significant recognition.

Architecture and business vision

Since 2021, MCL Studio has consolidated its position with an integrative vision of architecture and business. They left Moreno to establish the studio in Palermo, Buenos Aires, and began a phase in which they focused on two areas: the architectural studio that carries out projects for third parties, and their own developments maintaining the same architectural quality that form the foundation of the studio's prestige.

Among these first buildings in CABA are HER Fitz Roy, HER El Salvador and Next Pampa, among other projects. The city of Miami, with the residential building The Point One, is another of the scenarios where MCL is expanding.

Nowadays the office has a consolidated team of more than 30 members with two directors, Juan Micieli, in charge of the projects, and Manuel Micieli, overseeing research, administration and finance. They have completed more than 14 projects, 60,000m2 built and 375 functional units delivered both within Argentina and abroad. At present, they are working on the creation of a network of investors and lovers of real estate development with whom they can create businesses of architectural value and high profitability.

How to engage and participate with the best architecture in the social, economic and cultural processes and transformations that we are experiencing so rapidly in contemporary times is the essence of MCL. From far away in Moreno until today, this vision has guided several generations of the Micieli Galeazzi family seeking to add value to architecture and urbanism.