He was educated in Hamburg, Paris and Karlsruhe, as well as a short stay at Karl Friedrich Schinkel in Berlin.

Alexis de Chateauneuf is considered one of the pioneers in the renovation of brick architecture in Hamburg.

In connection with a family visit in the city, he presented the drafts that led to the rebuilding of Vår Frelser's church - now the Oslo Cathedral.

Heinrich Ernst Schirmer was employed as a construction manager and Chateauneuf signed a contract.

However, he died in 1853 before the cathedral was finished and his former student, Wilhelm von Hanno, completed the project.