NOMOS architectes

What NOMOS architectes does

NOMOS architectes is an association of architects founded around 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland, with a second office opened in Madrid, Spain. The firm operates dually under two partner-led teams — Katrien Vertenten and Lucas Camponovo in Geneva, Ophélie Herranz and Paul Galindo in Madrid — and employs approximately 21 architects across both locations. It works on projects at all scales, from furniture design to masterplanning, with a strong emphasis on sustainable construction, adaptive reuse of industrial buildings, and community-driven spatial design.

The firm generates revenue through project-based professional service fees, sourced primarily through architectural competitions (both invited and open) and direct commissions. Its client base is diversified across Swiss and Madrid housing cooperatives (e.g., Société Coopérative d'Habitation de Genève, Fondation Emma Kammacher), public administrations (e.g., Ville de Zürich, Régie Foncière de la Ville de Bruxelles, Ville de Carouge), private developers (e.g., The Capvest Group, Vonna Design SL), and humanitarian NGOs (Morija Association). Projects span Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, and Burkina Faso, with a portfolio of over 80 completed projects since 2010.

The firm has accumulated over 35 awards and recognitions since 2012, including the 2022 Dezeen Awards Emerging Architecture Studio of the Year, the 2021 AR House Award, and a 2019 Aga Khan Award nomination for the Kaya Medical Center in Burkina Faso. Operationally, NOMOS relies on a drawing-based design methodology and repeat partnerships with specialized engineering and co-design firms (PYRUS, AUS, NEW SOUTH), maintaining a competitive position in the niche of design-led, competition-winning architecture for housing cooperatives and public institutions.

Name

NOMOS architectes

Legal name

NOMOS

Website

https://nomos.archi

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NOMOS architectes is a Geneva- and Madrid-based association of architects offering sustainable design, adaptive reuse, and community-focused building services across all scales, serving housing cooperatives, municipalities, private developers, and humanitarian NGOs across Europe and Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Fees for architectural design services on commissioned projects including residential, commercial, civic, and mixed-use buildings. Revenue is project-based, typically from winning architectural competitions or direct commissions from public institutions, housing cooperatives, and private developers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NOMOS architectes provides architectural design services across all project scales, from furniture to masterplanning, as an association of architects based in Geneva and Madrid. The firm delivers residential (collective housing, single houses, apartment renovations), commercial (offices, retail, restaurants, bars), civic (schools, libraries, sports centers), healthcare, and humanitarian projects. Their practice emphasizes cultural context, environmental sustainability, and community creation through adaptive reuse and contextual new construction.

Product overview

NOMOS architects is an association of architects based in Geneva and Madrid offering architectural services across all project scales, from furniture design to masterplanning. The firm works on residential projects (collective housing, houses, apartment renovations), commercial developments (offices, retail, restaurants, bars), civic facilities (schools, libraries, sports centers), healthcare (medical centers), and mixed-use complexes. Their portfolio includes both new construction and transformation/rehabilitation projects, with particular focus on cultural context, environmental sustainability, and community creation through architecture. The firm has received numerous architectural awards including the Dezeen Award for Emerging Architecture Studio of the Year (2022) and has been nominated for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services (Residential, Commercial, Civic, Healthcare, Humanitarian) Full architectural design services for residential (collective housing, single houses, apartment renovations), commercial (offices, retail, restaurants, bars), civic (schools, libraries, sports centers), healthcare (medical centers), and humanitarian projects. Delivered through direct commissions and competition wins for housing cooperatives, municipalities, private developers, and NGOs across Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, and Burkina Faso.
• Urban Masterplanning Services Urban and district-scale masterplanning services combining residential, civic, sports, and public landscape functions, as demonstrated by the Stade Vander Putten mixed-use district in Brussels.
• Adaptive Reuse and Building Transformation Services Architectural transformation and adaptive reuse services for existing industrial and obsolete buildings (workshops, warehouses, car repair shops, residential towers), converting them into contemporary residential, commercial, and mixed-use spaces through minimal intervention strategies.
• Interior Design Services Interior design services for residential apartments, commercial spaces (kitchen showrooms such as Vonna Design in Madrid), bars (Bombar), and creative workplaces, with multiple Dezeen and FAD award recognitions in apartment interior categories.
• Furniture Design Furniture-scale design as part of the firm's broader practice that spans "from furniture to masterplanning," delivered for residential, commercial, and hospitality clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nominated for 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for Kaya Medical Center in Burkina Faso
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• NEW SOUTHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Primary design partner for Stade Vander Putten project in Brussels - a major mixed-use district combining sports facilities, public housing, and public landscape. Nomos + NEW SOUTH collaboration.
• Atelier Florent Clier (Landscape)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Landscape design partner for Stade Vander Putten project, creating the public landscape elements of the mixed-use district.
• GEI (Structure, MEP & Sustainability)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Engineering partner for Stade Vander Putten project providing structural, MEP, and sustainability design.
• AUScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Primary design partner for Le Rayon Vert project in Paris - transformation of three residential towers. Nomos + AUS collaboration for this major renovation project.
• Terrell (Structure, Façade and MEP Engineering)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Engineering partner for Le Rayon Vert project, providing structural, façade, and MEP engineering.
• DS2E (Cost Consultancy)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025Cost consultancy services for Le Rayon Vert project.
• En-Dehors (Landscape Design)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Landscape design partner for Isla Bonita project in Zurich - educational and sports facility for Seefeld school.
• co-struct AG (Structural Engineering)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Structural engineering partner for Isla Bonita project.
• PYRUS (Architecture Studio)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-design partner for the Mosso project - a mixed-use artisanal building in Chêne-Bourg, Geneva. Pyrus collaborated with Nomos on this timber-structured building combining offices and artisanal workshops.
• Ingeni (Structural Engineering)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Structural engineering partner for Mosso project. Provided structural design for the timber structure and dry-assembled facade system.
• Eco-Building (MEP Engineering HVAC)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024MEP engineering partner for Mosso project, providing HVAC system design.
• NSER (Construction Management)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Construction management partner for Mosso project.
• Morija Association HumanitairecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Humanitarian partnership for the Kaya Medical Center project in Burkina Faso. The project was developed for Morija with support from Nomos and Volta association for humanitarian architecture. Nomos contributed architectural design expertise for this volunteer healthcare facility built with local materials (rammed earth and laterite) using traditional building techniques.
• Volta (Association for Humanitarian Architecture)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partnership with Volta association for humanitarian architecture to support the Kaya Medical Center project. Combined efforts with Morija Association and Nomos to develop contextually appropriate healthcare architecture in Burkina Faso.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• MVRDV: Larger Dutch practice operating broadly across housing, civic, and cultural architecture with significant European presence. Overlaps with NOMOS on social/collective housing commissions but operates at materially greater scale.

Direct peers

• Studio Mumbai: India-based humanitarian and contextual architecture practice, Aga Khan Award recipient. Comparable to NOMOS in their Burkina Faso humanitarian project (Kaya Medical Center) through humanitarian architecture credentials and local-material ethos.
• Sergison Bates architects: London and Zurich-based practice of comparable size focused on housing, civic, and adaptive reuse projects across Europe. Direct parallel in typology focus, scale, and design-led approach to collective housing.
• Lacaton & Vassal: Paris-based architectural practice, Pritzker Prize winners (2021), renowned for social housing and adaptive reuse with minimal intervention philosophy — the most direct philosophical and methodological parallel to NOMOS's transformation-led approach.
• Studio Gang: Chicago-based practice led by Jeanne Gang, with similar trajectory of international recognition and sustainability-led housing and civic projects. Comparable 'emerging studio' reputation arc and project typology breadth.
• Assemble (Assemble Studio): London-based multidisciplinary practice and Turner Prize winner (2015) with comparable community-focused, material-driven approach and humanitarian/civic project profile. Both studios operate at similar scale with award-led reputations.
• Christ & Gantenbein: Basel-based architecture studio working across housing, civic, and cultural buildings in Switzerland. Comparable practice size and reputation profile, with similar social housing and public institutional focus.
• Lacol: Barcelona-based architecture cooperative focused on social housing, urban rehabilitation, and community-led projects. Direct parallel in philosophy, project type, and approach to cooperative/institutional housing clients.
• Karamuk Kuo: Swiss- and US-based studio with similar scale and project scope, focused on contextually driven residential, educational, and civic architecture. Both practices emphasize drawing-based design and cultural sensitivity.

Regional players

• EMF Architekti: Czech-based practice with comparable scale and social/sustainable housing focus. Comparable methodology around adaptive reuse and community-oriented design, though primarily operating in Central European markets rather than Western/Southern Europe.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/nomos.architects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nomos-architectes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NOMOS architectes