The Team
Samar Abdelaal
Samar Abdelaal is an architect, urban designer, and researcher specializing in heritage rehabilitation, post-colonial urban recovery, and participatory planning. She holds a double master’s degree in urban design: Revitalisation of Historic City Districts from Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg (BTU) and Alexandria University. She is currently pursuing a joint PhD in Heritage Management and Urban Governance in Post-Colonial Contexts at BTU and HafenCity University Hamburg. Her master’s research examined the legacy of colonial planning practices and their impact on contemporary urban segregation in Port Said, while her ongoing doctoral research investigates how heritage governance structures shape post-colonial cities.
In 2022, Samar transformed her master’s thesis research into the foundation for the Bazar Abbas Recovery Lab, an internationally supported heritage rehabilitation initiative in Port Said funded by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund. Over the past three years, she has been a key member of the BTU project management team, leading architectural rehabilitation strategies, coordinating interdisciplinary partnerships, and supporting on-site implementation. Bridging academic research and professional practice, her work centers on cultural heritage preservation, integrated urban recovery, and participatory planning approaches. Since 2022, Samar has worked as a research associate, lecturer, and project coordinator at BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg.
Miran Shouman
Miran Shouman is a conservation architect and urban heritage practitioner specializing in historic urban landscapes, community-based heritage conservation, and participatory regeneration. She recently worked as a Conservation Architect with EQI and the Royal Commission for AlUla (Saudi Arabia), contributing to architectural documentation, condition assessments, and restoration strategies for AlUla Old Town. She is also a Local Coordinator and Rehabilitation Team Member for the Bazar Abbas Recovery Lab in Port Said, an internationally funded urban recovery project supported by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund and led by Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg). Since 2016, Miran has been a core member and project manager at Port Said Ala Ademo, supported by international partners including EUNIC, the Goethe-Institut, Tandem Amwaj, and the Danish Institute in Egypt. Her projects include documenting collective memory, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, and developing participatory heritage education programmes. She has also contributed to academic and research activities as a Teaching Assistant at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport and as a researcher with CLUSTER, focusing on urban transformation, heritage mapping, and the documentation of Port Said’s built environment.