COVE is an architecture studio Paris-based founded by Axel Cornu and Gabriel Verret in 2018. Committed to the transformation of existing buildings, they extend their practice from the Paris metropolitan area to the rural areas of Auvergne.
They promote an architectural approach that prioritizes the site, its history, and its inhabitants. This perspective allows them to design renovations that are relevant to the present, valuing the heritage of buildings and using it to obtain the necessary materials for transformation, while respecting their character. The central role given to artisans in the execution of these projects allows these non-standardized materials to be used in controlled and sustainable interventions.
Axel Cornu graduated from ENSA Paris-La-Villette in 2015 after spending a year studying passive building design at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. While studying, he worked at the firm DGM & associés before founding his own studio, Axel Cornu Architecte, in 2017. He collaborated with Gabriel Verret on several projects before co-founding COVE Architectes.
Gabriel Verret studied architecture at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and ENSA Paris-La-Villette, where he graduated with honors in research in 2015. He then worked at several architecture firms (including Atelier Bow-Wow, LAN, and Philippe Rizzotti Architecte) before embarking on independent projects with Axel Cornu in 2017.
Awards and Publications
2025
Winners of the 40 Under 40 Award.
Winners of the Pavillon de l’Arsenal FAIRE 2025 competition.
Participation in the XXIII Chilean Architecture and Urbanism Biennial.
A Vivre Magazine No. 142 – Article “The Memory of Place” – Rehabilitation of an old farmhouse into a home.
NDA Magazine No. 142 60 – Agility, Flexibility, Reversibility – Article by Lionel Blaisse – Interior design for the Kering Group at the former Laënnec Hospital in Paris.
Chroniques d’architecture – Article “In Chamboirat, from farmhouse to home.”
Detail – Article “Renovation of an old farmhouse in Auvergne.”
2024
Selected for the SANA incubator at ENSA (National School of Architecture) in Clermont-Ferrand.
This is Paper – Chamboirat by COVE Architects.
Dwell – This is what it took to transform a 200-year-old French farmhouse into a family home.
2023
Building Low-Carbon, Living Architecture – Le Moniteur Publishing.
Michelangelo Extension in Paris.
Com d’Archi – Podcast “The Confrontation of Scales”.
Agency – COVE Architects.
