Egyptian Designer Aya Moug Turns Papyrus Into Furniture for Design Doha

Egyptian designer Aya Moug will show her Ankh furniture collection at Design Doha, running 5 November 2026 to 31 January 2027. Every piece is built from papyrus, a plant the ancient Egyptians used for everything from writing surfaces to boats as far back as 2,900 BC.

Moug, based in Dubai, began the project while studying for an MA in Industrial Design at London's Central Saint Martins. She wanted to reconnect with her roots through her practice. What she found surprised her: a material with serious engineering credentials and almost no contemporary design presence.

'Papyrus shares the same biochemical make-up as wood, which makes it inherently strong, and the plant's natural sap acts as a glue,' Moug explains. 'It also filters pollutants from water as it grows. But today, it is mostly used to make souvenirs for tourists. So I thought: why not bring this slice of Egyptian history back to life in a modern way?'

How do you make furniture from a river plant?

After two years of research and prototyping, Moug created Byblos, a durable, clay-like biomaterial made from papyrus fibres. It can be shaped by hand or cast into ultra-strong objects.

She launched her first furniture collection, Shen, at Downtown Design Dubai in 2023. The monochrome tables have glossy, swirling surfaces that recall the veins of marble. Custom commissions followed, including pieces for the UAE royal family, museums and restaurants across the region.

Her later collections mine ancient Egyptian forms:

• Mooy — a console and stool with zig-zag profiles, referencing the hieroglyph for water and the twists of the Nile.
• Ze+MET — combines Byblos with wood and animal hair fringes; its legs nod to ancient chairs shaped like cat limbs.
• Ankh — the new collection, spanning hand and machine carving and polishing, named for the hieroglyph associated with life and eternal existence.

The Ankh II coffee table takes cues from ancient stones. Each hand-crafted boulder forming its surface carries a carved symbol of rebirth, strength, power or life. The Ankh I sideboard's curved door is, in Moug's words, 'a symbolic doorway between ancient history and a new era.'

'I am bringing a historic material and symbolic language back to life through contemporary design and craftsmanship,' she says.

What does this change for architecture and interiors?

Papyrus is a fast-growing species that can be harvested multiple times a year without damaging the plant, making it a more renewable alternative to wood. Yet it has largely vanished from its historical Egyptian habitats, including the Nile Delta, due to agricultural expansion, intensive water management and urbanisation.

Moug argues the case for wider cultivation on cost grounds as well as ecological ones. 'Papyrus is not only one of the most efficient natural pollution filters, but is also among the cheapest methods for treating wastewater,' she says. 'But its cultivation and development requires investment.'

Her sustainable surface design company, Papyri, is already scaling the material beyond furniture. It has developed an off-white wall surface with a rich, rippling pattern, exploring Byblos applications across architecture and interiors.

'My dream is to develop products and surfaces that can be used in buildings across the world,' Moug adds. Design Doha, where the Ankh series goes on view this November, will be the first public test of that ambition.