May al-Ibrashy

May al-Ibrashy is an Egyptian architectural engineer, the co-founder and principal of Megawra and chair of Megawra-Built environment collective (BEC). Al-Ibrashy works on community engagement projects through heritage conservation, rehabilitation, preservation, and re-signification centered in Cairo's marginalized communities.

Education Al-Ibrashy was born in Cairo in 1970. She obtained a degree in architectural engineering from Ain Shams University in Cairo. She continued her education to complete a master's in the history of Islamic Art, architecture, and archaeology from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) followed by a PhD in archaeology, also at SOAS.

Career Al-Ibrashy began her career working as an architect and a professor prior to co-founding Megawra, an Egyptian non-governmental organization architectural practice in 2011. Alongside her work for Megawra, she continues to work as a lecturer in architecture at the American University in Cairo and at Cairo University, as well as a professor of Practice in Islamic Architecture at SOAS. In the same year, al-Ibrashy began the Athar Lina (Heritage is Ours!) initiative, in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. with the aim of encouraging the marginalized communities’ sense of ownership of their historic environments. A specific focus of al-Ibrashy's work is with children and young people in Cairo's economically deprived neighborhoods, and she has worked in the Northern Cemetery in Cairo. Al-Ibrashy has lectured widely, both in Egypt and abroad.

Publications

Books Citizen Participation in Historic Cairo, The Ford Foundation (2020) Conservation and Management Plan Al-Khalifa Street Area, ISBN 978-977-90-8236-3, The Ford Foundation (2020) معايير التصميم في القاهرة التاريخية - Historic Cairo Intervention Toolkit, (2020) خطة الحفاظ والإدارة - منطقة شارع الخليفة, The Ford Foundation (2020)

Papers Closing Keynote Speech-May al-Ibrashy-Heritage as a driver for development: Athar Lina Initiative in Historic Cairo, AUC Knowledge Foundation (2020) The cultural heritage of Egypt's cities (2021) Heritage in the Street: Megawra | BEC’s Athar Lina Initiative in Historic Cairo, ISSN 2206-9658, City Space Architecture (2021) Design with the Senses and for the Senses: An Alternative Teaching Model for Design Studio, International Journal of Architectural Research (2010) The history of the Southern Cemetery of Cairo from the 14th century to the present : an urban study of a living cemetery (2005)

Editorial contribution Funambulist Magazine, Cairo: Hope is the thing with feathers

al-Ibrashy was one of the five finalists for the 2023 ArchDaily Diversity in Architecture Award.