Lebanese Studio's Designs Are Rooted in the Arabic Language

Language is usually read or spoken. For architect Joanne Hennaoui Audi, it also takes physical form. Through JUZUR, Arabic letters are transformed into freestanding objects carved from reclaimed wood and designed to inhabit everyday interiors.

Launched in July 2023, JUZUR is produced in collaboration with woodcarvers in Tripoli, North Lebanon. The project explores the Arabic alphabet through craftsmanship and material, with each collection shaped by reclaimed resources and the realities of hand production.

The idea emerged during a period when Hennaoui Audi was questioning whether to leave Lebanon following the country’s economic crisis and the Beirut Port explosion in 2020.

"I never wanted to leave," Audi tells SceneHome. The explosion was the moment that made me question whether we should stay or not. This urge came from the feeling of being uprooted by force. I said, no, we have to find a way to stay connected to our roots, even if we could be somewhere else."

That experience informed the thinking behind JUZUR.

"JUZUR is centred on language, handcraft and sustainability," Audi explains. "The alphabet is the starting point for every piece. Handcraft allows us to work with young artisans and support traditional woodworking skills. Sustainability shapes the way we source materials, produce the objects, develop the packaging and organise shipping."

Her background in architecture informs the way each collection is developed. The process begins with reclaimed timber, allowing the dimensions and characteristics of the available material to determine the scale of each letter before it is refined in collaboration with the artisans producing it.

"I started with wood because I found waste material," she says. "I'm buying waste beech wood from a local timber supplier. We have a lot of woodcarvers who are no longer working with these skills because there isn't enough demand. I said, let's start from here."

Today, JUZUR comprises three series, all produced with the same group of woodcarvers in Tripoli. The first translates all 34 Arabic letterforms into freestanding objects carved from waste beech wood, allowing users to compose their own words. The second uses reclaimed cherry wood, assembling smaller timber pieces into larger letters that Hennaoui Audi often uses as centrepieces. The third extends the material journey into furniture, transforming leftover beech wood from the first series into functional objects. It begins with the Arabic letter 'nun', developed as a low side table and first presented during the inaugural edition of WEDESIGN Beirut in May 2024.

"The first series was born because of the dimensions of the wood I found," Audi says. "The timber wasn't very wide, so that determined the size of the letters. At the same time, the artisan couldn't carve anything much smaller by hand. The design is a constant dialogue between the artisan, the initial design and the material."

This approach extends to every detail of the collection. The first series is packaged in handcrafted recycled paper and banana leaf fibre produced with artisans in Tyre, South Lebanon. The second is presented in tote bags made from leftover textiles in collaboration with a local fashion designer. Throughout the project, Hennaoui Audi applies the same principles to sourcing, production, packaging and shipping.

Although wood remains JUZUR’s primary material, Hennaoui Audi is already exploring future collections in copper, metal and glass. "It depends on finding the right artisans. It also depends on finding waste, reclaimed or recycled material. I don't want to buy new material," she says. Through JUZUR, Hennaoui Audi explores how Arabic letterforms can exist not only as a written language, but as objects shaped by material, craft and memory.