Laura Gelso, Partner Jean-Paul Viguier et Associés

Laura Gelso was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved to Canada in the 1980’s where she pursued her education. She graduated with distinction from the School of Fine Arts of Concordia University in Montreal, with a Double Major in Art History and Studio Arts. She then followed her studies in architecture, graduating in 1997 from the School of Architecture of the University of Montreal. At graduation, she was awarded the medal for overall excellence in architecture from the AIA. For the first ten years of her professional career, Laura worked in New York and the UK for internationally acclaimed firms on academic and corporate projects, research laboratories and two award-winning museums. She joined Jean-Paul Viguier et Associés in Paris in 2007 and became a partner in 2011.

Since joining the firm, she has managed the interior architecture of several large projects in the office, including Eiffage headquarters in Velizy, the headquarters of Prisma Presse in Gennevilliers, the SFR headquarters in Saint Denis and the MUSE shopping centre in Metz, amongst others. Parallel to these projects, she has been responsible for several office, academic and innovative retail projects as well as mixed-used developments, including the IOT Valley in Toulouse.

In 2004, Laura graduated from HEC Paris with an Executive MBA, specializing in entrepreneurship and innovation. Her final thesis, entitled “FROM THE BUSINESS OF DESIGN TO THE DESIGN OF BUSINESS”, explores the application of Design Thinking techniques in order to kick off and sustain radical innovation at the heart of any business.