Architect · Partner, Powerhouse Company

Robyne
Somé

Shaping cities and cultures through architecture — from the Rhine quays of Rotterdam to the forested hills of Nairobi.

Nairobi · RotterdamEst. 2019Selected Work→

Portrait — 2025 · Powerhouse Company, Nairobi

About

An architect drawn to places where old and new — and cultures — meet.

Robyne Somé is a Dutch-Burkinabé architect and, since 2025, a partner at Powerhouse Company, where she co-leads the firm's new Nairobi office. Her practice moves fluidly between global ambition and local presence — from the transformation of the listed Codrico Terrain in Rotterdam to climate-adaptive design in East Africa.

Trained at TU Delft and Paris-Belleville, she spent formative time with BIG in New York and six years at Powerhouse Company's Rotterdam studio before returning to the country where she spent much of her youth. Her work foregrounds heritage, climate, and the everyday rituals of the people who use a building — balancing international practice with cultural specificity.

“Different perspectives need to be considered, especially when it comes to our built environment — the world we live in.”

Selected Work

Three projects across
two continents.

Built, under construction, and on the horizon — a cross-section of the practice at Powerhouse Company, where each project balances international ambition with the grain of its place.

01 · Rotterdam, NL · 2017 — ongoing

The Codrico Terrain

Masterplan · An industrial icon revitalized

A three-year collaboration with the municipality of Rotterdam and RED Company to transform the listed Codrico Terrain into a vibrant new city center. The ensemble includes 1,500 new homes — half of them affordable — a cultural center on the water, a 220-meter tower, and places for work and leisure, all woven around the beloved Codrico Factory. Powerhouse Company led the masterplan and designed a mixed-use building on the eastern quay and a residential building on the neighbouring field, alongside SHoP Architects, Mecanoo, Office Winhov, Crimson Historians & Urbanists and DELVA.

“Very proud of this project. Enjoyed working on it and looking forward to the next steps to make it a reality.”

Project at Powerhouse Company↗

02 · Arnhem, NL · Completed

NELSON

Residential tower on the Rhine

A short distance from Arnhem's city center, on the banks of the Rhine, rises NELSON — a distinctive, diamond-shaped residential tower designed for VanWonen. Ninety-three apartments step from affordable housing on the lower floors to open-plan penthouses at the top. A diamond-shaped structural core mirrors the load-bearing façade, freeing the interior so every floor can be reconfigured if demand shifts. Integrated bird nest boxes are set into the façade.

“Something quite different, but enjoyed working on this challenging project and happy with the final result — most excited about all the integrated bird nest boxes in the façade.”

Milestones

Moments along the way.

Robyne Somé and Maarten Diederix, newly appointed partners at Powerhouse Company

September 2025

Partner at Powerhouse Company

After establishing offices in Rotterdam, Munich and Oslo, Powerhouse Company opened a new branch in Nairobi led by Robyne Somé and Maarten Diederix. Their appointment to partner in 2025 marks the next step in the firm's international growth and anchors its work in East Africa.

“As my first job after graduation, Powerhouse shaped and challenged me in so many ways. It is my privilege to now lead the firm to beautiful new projects in East Africa.”

Read the announcement on Cobouw↗

Thesis · 2018

Burkina Faso —
the vernacular and an African modernity.

Robyne's master's thesis at TU Delft — a documentary and design investigation in Burkina Faso — reads the country through the people that inhabit it. Diversity is Burkina Faso's strong suit, and the variety of ethnic groups is paired with a remarkable creativity in the spatial environment.

Understanding the natural, cultural and social context in which Burkinabé citizens live, the project argues, is how architects can design housing that is better, more affordable, and more culturally sensitive — fusing the vernacular with an African modernity to meet the country's rapid urban growth.

Maquette from Robyne Somé's Burkina Faso thesis — Site model — fused vernacular typologies

Robyne Somé presenting her thesis project — Thesis defence — TU Delft, 2018

Press

Mevr. De Architect

De Architect · Feature interview

At thirty-one, a partner at an international architecture firm — a rarity in the Netherlands, a reality in Nairobi. Robyne's cover feature for De Architect's Mevr. De Architect series traces her deliberate choice to set up a new Powerhouse Company office in Africa, the freedom and responsibility that choice brought with it, and what representation really means in the profession.

From the article — translated & paraphrased

“Partner at an international architecture firm at thirty-one — a rarity in the Netherlands, a reality in Nairobi. Robyne Somé deliberately chose to open a new Powerhouse Company office in Africa, where she takes on greater responsibility, finds more freedom in her work, and can combine her pregnancy with her new partnership.”

Read the interview↗

De Architect — Mevr. De Architect 2.0 cover featuring Robyne Somé — Cover — De Architect · Mevr. De Architect 2.0

Editorial portrait of Robyne Somé for De Architect — 1 — Portrait 1

Editorial portrait of Robyne Somé for De Architect — 2 — Portrait 2

Editorial portrait of Robyne Somé for De Architect — 3 — Portrait 3

Editorial portrait of Robyne Somé for De Architect — 4 — Portrait 4

Experience

Practice.

Partner
Powerhouse Company · Nairobi, KE
Sep 2025 — Present
Architect
Powerhouse Company · The Randstad, NL
Aug 2019 — Sep 2025
Design Assistant
BIG — Bjarke Ingels Group · New York City, US
Jan 2017 — Aug 2017
Interior Design Visualizer
Profile Project · Rijswijk, NL
Jul 2016 — Sep 2016

Education

Training.

Delft University of Technology
Master of Science, Architecture · Delft, NL
2015 — 2018
École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-Belleville
Minor, Architecture · Paris, FR
2014 — 2015
Delft University of Technology
Bachelor of Applied Science, Architecture · Delft, NL
2012 — 2015
Hillcrest International School
A Levels, Mathematics · Nairobi, KE
2010 — 2012

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