The Future Of Furniture Design
NOMA are tackling the challenges of circularity with radical transparency
Words by Clara Le Fort. Images by NOMA
Taking inspiration from our interviewees in this story, we’ll start with full transparency: the Looms team are self-confessed NOMA fans, not just for the furniture they make, but for their wholehearted commitment to circularity. Theirs is a completely unique approach, sending a clear message that 100% recycled design doesn’t exist, and using that as a motivation to encourage the whole industry to do better, with the hope of creating change through honest and open creativity and collaboration (it doesn’t get more transparent than giving your own products a sustainability rating).
To recap for those who are less familiar with their work: Bruce Ribay and Guillaume Galloy launched furniture company NOMA in France in 2020, setting out to address the discipline’s lack of circularity and change the way we all look at, produce, buy and repair (or not) furniture. By questioning and assessing every step of a product’s life cycle, the former architect and engineer established a ground-breaking new model, which constantly monitors and scores a piece of furniture’s environmental impact.
Today, with a handful of committed and visionary designers, NOMA leverages the power of recycled materials to design conscious, life-standing furniture with an edge. As you might expect, in just a few years, NOMA has become one of the highest ranking B Corps in the design world. We sat down with Ribay and Galloy to hear more about their astute circularity model and inspiring ways of thinking.
Co-founders Guillaume Galloy and Bruce Ribay (left to right) merged their personal ambitions to create beautiful and lasting furniture with the need for more sustainable and transparent solutions on the market. Portrait image by Francois Rouzioux.
What were NOMA’s founding ideas?
GG: We had both worked over a decade for LVMH and developed key retail concepts for many of the group’s brands (Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Céline, Chaumet, Boucheron) – Bruce as an architect and myself as an engineer and project manager. Yet, there were so many elements we couldn’t implement for LVMH. We wanted to steer away from those constraints, and follow our personal ambitions in creating a design-led furniture company and beautiful interior architectures.
BR: My grandfather was an architect, and my grandmother had a unique design furniture store that sold Vitra and Cassina pieces back in the day. They were a lifelong inspiration for me. Our benchmark was indeed to create the ‘Vitra of the 21st century’, a new brand that would stand the test of time and make a difference.
“Our benchmark was to create the ‘Vitra of the 21st century’, a new brand that would stand the test of time and make a difference.”
What made you decide to start NOMA together?
BR: We both have a strong commitment to sustainability, plus our approaches are complementary: Guillaume has the problem-solving mindset of an engineer while loving design, and I apply the practical vision of an architect and builder to everything.
In 2019, when we started NOMA, we both had small children which increased our awareness of the lack of sustainable design solutions. It was obvious for us that design had to tackle these pressing issues: design, by definition, considers and brings together usages, techniques and sociology. Our passion for design was the only way to leverage sustainability.
“To avoid any form of greenwashing, we had to measure precisely the impact and performance of materials, ways of production and energetic mix used, plus the impact of manufacturing locations.”
How did you approach the challenge of assessing sustainability?
BR: We knew from the many Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) we had conducted for LVMH retail stores that assessing the sustainability percentage of a piece, store or products is a very complex task. We knew we couldn’t do it ourselves, plus we wanted an outside expert to add transparency to the process. We called François Xavier Ferrari, co-founder of eco-design consultancy Cooperative Mu, to help us find the right ‘recipe’, challenge our perception, and question the consequences of setting up a new business.
GG: Our first intuition was that sourcing the right materials was key, but we quickly found out that it was much more complex. To avoid any form of greenwashing, we had to measure precisely the impact and performance of materials, ways of production and energetic mix used, plus the impact of manufacturing locations. From the start, our commitments were also very clear, which helped with the assessment: relying on local resources, organically sourced materials, and manufacturing in France.
What was the first hurdle?
GG: As we started deep-diving further into sustainable practices and scientifically assessing what that implied for NOMA, we understood how difficult and restrictive these constraints would be operationally. We decided to go ahead with our project: being as sustainable as possible was the only way forward for us. However steep the journey!
Then came another antinomy: the more we were going to produce, the more impact we were going to have. The same was valid for NOMA’s increased carbon footprint if we started selling more and further away. We knew we would have to tackle these issues along the way.
Did you ever reconsider the idea of creating new furniture?
BR: Yes, definitely! But after doing some research, we realised that first, we could make the difference in making contemporary design more sustainable, repairable and longer lasting with new pieces. We considered the vintage market briefly, but it was not for us: vintage businesses are tech based and we are neither coders nor tech-entrepreneurs. For NOMA, our key pillar is making a difference through design, making sustainable design not only attractive and desirable but functional, timeless and accessible to all. If we could lead the way and create new practices in design, we would be game-changers. We just needed to find the right designers to work with…
How did that go?
BR: Incredibly well and it comforted us in our approach for NOMA. 100% of the designers we met found our project fascinating, in that it answered a fundamental question of our times. All of them also stressed that they didn’t feel completely legit and that it was very important for them to work with Mu in conducting the LCAs. Eight out of 10 embarked on this journey with us and all took part in a full training session with Mu. We could have never imagined that RDAI, A+A Cooren, Sam Baron, Martino Gamper, Jean-Marc Gady and Charlotte Juillard would all clear their schedules to attend a training session on the same day!
Each material used is rigorously assessed for its environmental impact, origin and durability, all of which are clearly listed in product descriptions. In the spirit of total transparency, the name of each piece states the percentage of recycled material it contains. Above: Arca 88,1 console; Sen 65,6 wooden chair; and Art 77,5 armchair.
Did your first intuition about sourcing recycled materials prove to be true?
GG: Yes, designing furniture using a material that has already been used (as opposed to a new one) makes complete sense. Yet, it’s not always the most sustainable material: using recycled material usually has a lesser impact, but you also have to consider what use you’re going to make of it and how long it’s going to last. Sometimes, a recycled material has a much smaller lifespan than a naturally available virgin material like wool.
One thing we learnt is that you cannot leave anything to chance or intuition; we had to assess every material, every step of the way. Today, there are still materials we can’t fully assess nor officially trace, like recycled steel — we know we use recycled steel (coming from arc furnace steel plants), but can’t get an official certificate, so by default we consider it as a non-recycled material, in the LAIME armchair for example.
What kind of ‘new’ materials did you find?
BR: Our approach to ‘newer’ materials is a cornerstone of NOMA’s development. Back in 2019 every recycled material we looked at wasn’t eye-catching. There was very little that matched with our high-end design ambitions. Yet, we came across black and orange slabs of recycled plastic – which back then were completely new and unidentifiable. We immediately saw it as both aesthetic and desirable; coming from the luxury field, we knew that could easily become a premium for design. We showed the slabs to Sam Baron who turned them almost overnight into a design installation for the Salone del Mobile in 2019. Following that, we briefed designers to imagine a complete first collection. Only RDAI had in mind to come back to us with a proposal of their own.
The LAIME42 armchairs, designed by Charlotte Juillard, are made of 42% (traceable) recycled materials, including steel tubes and French wool fabric
You unveiled NOMA’s first collection in January 2020, tell us about that?
GG: We presented during Paris Déco Off and what came as a surprise to many is the name of the pieces, which all state the percentage of recycled material they contain. Like Arca 88,1% or Pedra 99,6%. Our commitment to sustainability and transparency is clearly identifiable through the name of each piece and the percentage attached – which we adjust as the sourcing of materials changes. It also sends a clear message that 100% recycled design doesn’t exist! By doing so, we invented a kind of scoring system, which is, of course, designed and calculated by us. But it sends the industry a strong message – to date, no other scoring system nor environmental label exists. To go further, we went to BCorp for an outside valuation: we received the highest European score for a furniture company and were ranked 5th in the world, which we couldn’t have fathomed when we started, knowing the complexity of our designs.
How much influence do you have over the designers’ processes?
BR: None really, we stayed very open-minded and asked every designer to work with their strengths! With Sam Baron’s Pedra candleholders, the approach is straightforward: he embellishes and makes good use of marble waste. Charlotte Juillard’s designs are more complex: the LAIME 42% armchair integrates a lot of steel, which we cannot prove is recycled, hence the low percentage – but most importantly, no nail, glue nor screw are used, and it can be disassembled in under a minute. All materials used are clearly identified and separated, which means that it can easily be repaired and further recycled. Sustainability lies at the core of the object. The Arca console tells another story: stone waste is turned – through a highly innovative process – into a useful and highly aesthetical design piece composed almost entirely of… stone dust!
What are your ambitions for the future?
We’re very proud to have created a full collection of furniture pieces with a close family of designers. We’re still trying to find the right mix or hybrid approach to combine contract pieces and residential furniture. In the future, we want to continue designing new pieces, but also advise brands on assessing their impact and create interiors or retail concepts that match their sustainable ambitions. We’re also doing more and more consulting on hospitality, restaurant, and retail projects. And going forward, we’re looking for the right partner – whether industrial, commercial, or financial – to continue innovating and growing in the most sustainable manner possible.
