Utzon(x) - Nanne de Ru

Nanne de Ru.

On March the 6^th 2014 I went to The Utzon Center in Aalborg in order to hear a lecture by the Dutch architect, Nanne de Ru. De Ru has among other things taught and lectured schools across Europe such as the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, and Delft University of technology.  Furthermore he is now the Director of The Berlage Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture and Urban Design and is, together with Charles Bessard, one of the cofounders of Powerhouse Company..

In his lecture, de Ru presented the very first building designed by Powerhouse, Villa 1. This villa is situated in a Dutch forest, but because the house’s spatial needs required twice the volume allowed by the regulations, part of the house is placed below ground level.  Obviously the main problem therefore was to maximize the source of natural daylight, which is why the floor plan of Villa 1 as well as many design decisions are purely based on light and view.

Villa 1, The Netherlands, 2005-2007: The Powerhouse Company's first project.

Read more about Villa 1: Click here

In general the philosophy of the Powerhouse Company is that architecture is all about creating the experience of space, which is why the evaluation of the potential of the site remains fundamental to all of their projects. De Ru’s education as an architectural engineer and the fact that he has later worked closely together on several projects with structural engineers also reflects in the many parameters that are taken into account and the structural considerations that are made prior to the actual construction of a building - this being for example sunlight, views, topography, vegetation and climate.


The sense of detail and awareness of the surrounding area including its population is one of the many aspects that characterize de Ru and therefore also the Powerhouse Company’s work with both architectural as well as urban design. They understand that architectural works, infrastructure and urban design affects not only the individual using or living in the given space, but also the people that look at it or pass by it every day. Furthermore operating in such a diversity of countries with different religious believes, political systems, cultural history etc. means that there are a lot of boundaries that describe the limits of possibilities. These parameters all have to be taken into account when beginning a new project but still Powerhouse want to make a noticeable change, which is why they have to ask themselves how they can transform something that is not there into the best version of it based on its nature.

In order to illustrate the diversity of de Ru and Powerhouse's work, I have added a few pictures below of some very different but yet prominent works:

Victoire Yacht, France, 2011-now: Commission to upgrade the classic Victoire yacht range.

Rhijnspoor Building, The Netherlands, 2012-2015: 

New technology building of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

 Canakkale Antenna Tower, 2014-now: 

The new antenna tower which is also to become a landmark of  the Turkish city çanakkale.

The subjects above only represent a very small sample of the many projects that Powerhouse Company has developed since its beginning in 2005. If you want to read more about the company and their projects please visit: Powerhouse Company

Finally at the end of the lecture de Ru referred to a short documentary made by the architect and cofounder of Powerhouse Company, Charles Bessard, the Danish film director Andreas M. Dalsgaard and Dominic Balmforth. The name of the documentary is ReDane, which is about creating a better life for the general public through a union between gastronomy, farming and life in the city. It is about rethinking the use of the land, distribution and a general change of attitude in order to secure the future of the entire country – in this case Denmark.

Personally I think the documentary is very striking and it is obvious that a lot of research and thinking lies behind it. Feel free to watch it on vimeo - ReDANE.

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