Noemi Florea
Noemi founded LÆRO, a multidisciplinary design studio dedicated to creating innovative product-service systems that promote social, ecological, and environmental health. With a passion for sustainability and impact-driven design, she leads projects that address pressing global challenges through creative and thoughtful solutions. Studying at The New School in New York, Noemi pursued two Bachelor of Arts degrees—one in Environmental Studies and Economics and the other in Integrated Design for Sustainable Cities. Her academic background and her practical experience empower her to design systems that create sustainability and contribute to a more resilient future.
Noemi created Cycleau, a unique water management system that recycles grey water and transforms it into clean drinking water. This innovative solution addresses the global water scarcity issue by offering a sustainable way to reuse water from everyday activities such as washing dishes and showering. Cycleau's compact design makes it suitable for both residential and commercial spaces.
One of its most notable installations is on Governors Island in New York City, where visitors could interact with the water treatment devices firsthand. This installation allowed people to see how Cycleau worked in real time and consider how such a system could be integrated into their homes, making sustainable water use more accessible and practical.
Noemi’s work on Cycleau earned her recognition as an MIT Solv[ED] Youth Innovator in 2023, an honour highlighting her dedication to creating innovative solutions for global challenges. The mentorship and funding provided through the Creatives For Our Future programme has been instrumental in further developing her water recycling system.
With continued support, Noemi is refining Cycleau’s design to reduce water pollution, increase water reuse, and promote more sustainable water management practices. Her work aims to significantly tackle water scarcity, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and resource-efficient future for communities worldwide.
The Creatives for Our Future programme truly catalysed the development of this project from what was initially a conceptual model that had limited perceived viability to, ultimately, a now functional model of the world’s first compact greywater reuse system. The combined resources that this programme offered, which included funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities, allowed me to take this project forward in ways that I could not have imagined, and in the process, set me on a new path of entrepreneurialism that I will continue to build on moving forward.
Noemi Florea
