He was a workshop expert at the 5th Holcim Forum 2016 dedicated to “Infrastructure Space” held in Detroit, USA.

He studied architecture at ETH Zurich and completed an internship at Terence Riley, Architects in New York (1997-98). He collaborated with Herzog & de Meuron (2000-03), and on a joint venture between Herzog & du Meuron and OMA - Rem Koolhaas (2000-01) before founding Made in with Patrick Heiz in 2003.

Made in was awarded the Swiss Art Award (Confederation Prize to upcoming artists) and nominated for the Iakov Chernikhov International Prize. In 2009 the firm was nominated for the Velux Award and won the Stahlbaupreis and Bronzene Hase 2009 for Villa Chardonne, a private residence on the shores of Lake Geneva.

François Charbonnet has been a visiting professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL Lausanne) (2010-11), ETH Zurich (2011-13), and the University of Lugano (Università della Svizzera italiana - USI) in Mendrisio, Switzerland (2014-15).