Introducing Powerhouse Company

At Powerhouse Company, we believe that quality of life is the mission of architecture.

Our ambition is to return architecture to its grounding in craft, and to its role as an encompassing, constructive and innovative profession.

Our projects are the result of an intensive, service-oriented interaction with our clients, our partners and the project context. Our approach is comprehensive. We focus on the concept of a building, on its detailing, materiality and spatial qualities as intrinsic and integrated parts of the project.

At the same time, we think that optimizing budgets, orchestrating schedules and making technically perfect buildings are things of beauty, too.

Powerhouse Company was founded by Nanne de Ru and Charles Bessard.

Ouvertures The first six years of Powerhouse Company

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Charles Bessard

1970, FRANCE

Charles Bessard is one of the co-founders of Powerhouse Company and a PhD-fellow at the Royal Art Academy of Copenhagen.

He received the Master of Excellence in Architecture in 2002 from the Berlage Institute, Postgraduate Laboratory of Architecture, in Rotterdam and graduated with honors as an architect in 1993 at the Ecole Speciale d’Architecture in Paris.

From 1993 to 1997 he worked in several practices in Paris including Bodin and Associate where he was the project leader for the Heritage Media library part of the Trocadero refurbishment in Paris. During the years 1997-2000 Charles Bessard worked in London at Sheppard Robson Architects as a lead designer on several large scale projects in London. From 2002 to 2004 Charles Bessard worked at Atelier Jean Nouvel on the Denmark Radio Concert hall in Ørestad where he was leading the design and the realization of the facades.

In 2005 Charles Bessard co-founded Powerhouse Company with Nanne de Ru. Charles heads the Copenhagen office.

Charles Bessard has been a guest professor at various institutions such as the Aarhus University, TU Delft, Design Academy Eindhoven and AHO Oslo School of Architecture. In 2009 Charles Bessard became a PhD-fellow at the Royal Art Academy of Copenhagen, where he is researching the consequences of the rising sea-water levels on the urbanization of Denmark.

Nanne de Ru

1976, THE NETHERLANDS

Nanne de Ru is also a co-founder of Powerhouse Company and the director of The Berlage Center of Advanced studies in Architecture and Urban Design.

He studied Architectural Engineering at the Amsterdam University of Applied Science and received the Master of Excellence in Architecture in 2002 from the Berlage Institute, Postgraduate Laboratory of Architecture, in Rotterdam. From 2002 to 2004 Nanne de Ru worked at Rem Koolhaas’ AMO, the research branch of OMA, as lead researcher and designer

In 2005 Nanne de Ru co-founded Powerhouse Company, an office for Architecture, Urbanism and Research, with branches in Rotterdam and Copenhagen. Nanne leads the Rotterdam team.

Since beginning 2013 Nanne de Ru is Director of The Berlage. He has taught and lectured at schools across Europe, such as the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, the Ecole Speciale d’Architecture in Paris and the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.