May Al-Ibrashy is an Egyptian architect and expert in monument preservation and management. She is known for her work to preserve Cairo's historic buildings and cultural heritage.

Al-Ibrashy was born in Cairo in 1970. She studied engineering at Ain Shams University in Cairo and then obtained a master's degree in the history of Islamic art, architecture and archaeology at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She also received a doctorate in archaeology from the same institution, with the subject “Cairo's Southern Cemetery from the 14th Century to the Present: An Urban History of a Living Cemetery”. This theme subsequently formed the basis of her later career.

She worked as an architect and founded the nonprofit Megawra Initiative for Sustainable Rehabilitation (MISR), dedicated to the sustainable preservation of heritage sites in Egypt. One of her most remarkable projects is the rehabilitation of the Al-Khalifa neighborhood, a historic district in Cairo, where she restored monuments while improving residents' living conditions. With her work, she was able to help marginalized communities in the historic center of Cairo strengthen their position. She is now active as a lecturer in Architecture at the American University in Cairo and Cairo University, and is professor of Practice in Islamic Architecture at SOAS.

Through her extensive research and working on community projects, Al-Ibrashy realized that the biggest problem with heritage in Egypt is that people do not have the means or financial opportunities to value it. Instead of seeing it as a resource, locals see heritage as a burden. She calls this a “love-hate relationship”. By making people aware of the importance of heritage and giving them the tools to see it as a resource, they felt more engaged. When communities actively preserve, feel responsible for, and care for their heritage, they become more respectful and thankful for their history.

Al-Ibrashy's work has helped create an important backlash to the current government's focus on urban expansion, demolition and renewal. This has given communities a new sense of hope and pride, drawing inspiration from the past to build a better future. In both her practice and her teaching, she believes in the importance of the interdisciplinarity of heritage preservation. She states that architecture must take into account history, social development and sustainability, and that all of these disciplines should be at the same non-hierarchical level. Traditional crafts are also considered a crucial part of the heritage and should be more involved in conservation.

In addition to numerous publications, May Al-Ibrashy won the Prince Claus Impact Award in 2022 and was a finalist of the Archdaily Diversity in Architecture (DIVIA) Award in 2023. Her strong message about respecting cultural history has not only reached the entire Middle East but has also been recognized as crucial around the world.

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