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DIVERSITY  . INCLUSIVITY . TRANSDISCIPLINARY , COLLECTIVE ACTION . ACTION RESEARCH . DESIGN RESEARCH . INNOVATION . EVIDENCE-BASED . FAIL FORWARD . CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT . PARTICIPATION . STAKEHOLDERS .  COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING . STRATEGIC THINKING . CO-CREATION . COLLABORATION . WORKSHOPS . DISRUPTION . CURIOSITY . ACCESSIBILITY . ADAPTIBILITY . CREATIVITY . ITERATION . EXPERIMENTATION . DESIGN THINKING . TRANSFORMATION . 


    stephanie
briers 



ABOUT ME


I am a transdisciplinary researcher, urbanist, and architect with expertise in creating space for diverse needs, knowledge, and ideas that inform innovative solutions and strategies, transforming that messy problem space into an inspiring solution space. Whether it's co-creating a project brief that goes beyond merely ticking the boxes, or understanding the root causes of wicked problems, I am passionate about co-producing knowledge and solutions that contribute to a sustainable and inclusive future.

As a lateral thinker, I have a rich work experience including research, collaboration facilitation, project management, exhibition curation, and book publishing. My diverse interests and knowledge put me in the right position to collaborate on projects that require creative thinking and participatory approaches to solve complex problems.

 PORTFOLIO 




 




The exhibition wall depicting the utopian city, also reflected in the 6m x 6m model on the floor The exhibition wall depicting the utopian city, also reflected in the 6m x 6m model on the floor A close up of the wall image depicting the utopian future city A 3D model of the 6m x 6m built model produced at the OC Open City Summer School A snap shot of the 3D fly over the utopian city





The local team trained to install the wall-mounted solar lights in their community The local installation team and ETH Zurich researchers The result of wall-mounted public lighting installed above the front door of each home.
Introduction: Everynight life in informal settlements, an understudied, yet crucial topic in Southern Urbanism The lack of adequate lighting is a common feature of everynight life in informal settlements 2. Reading through and beyond light: a literature review of public lighting and everynight life 3. Cape Town's Segregated Lightscape: investigating high-mast lighting, the apartheid-era lighting Map: public lighting (top) compared to racial distribution (bottom) 4. Light in Khayelitsha's informal settlements: a multi-dimensional study Parcicipatory photo interview and workshop on nighttime experiences in informal settlements Virtual reality exploration of public lighting preferences with residents of informal settlements 4. Life in the shadows of area lighting: understanding the impact of high-mast lighting on everynight life in informal settlements A protest against the installation of high-mast lighting by NGO Social Justice Coalition High-mast lighting frequently failing to work due to regular power cuts and high maintenance costs 5. Trapped by darkness: an ethnographic study of everynight life in dark informal settlements Nighttime activity before the informal 9pm curfew in informal settlements 6. Freeing the night, co-producing light: sharing experiences of co-producing a wall-mounted solar lighting project 7. An infrastructure of freedom: breaking social, spatial and temporal boundaries with light Diagram illustrating the theoretical contribution of "Infrastructures of freedom"
Video and display area on alternative building materials, with a focus on sandbags Model building table and research display on Kosovo informal settlement Model building workshop focusing on building community Model building workshop focusing on building community Filling sandbags to interact with alternative building materials Dream space to write and pin up ideas on 'home' Youth pinning up their ideas around what home represents for them
A design tool kit presented to students of the summer school Summer school students who worked on the Freetown Parangole project Presentation night of the OC Open City Summer School The 6m x 6m physical model of a utopian Piacenza in 2050








sample pages of the book sample pages of the book sample pages of the book sample pages of the book sample pages of the book


Courtyard view Open passage way filled with colour and playful design gestures Opening celebrations of the children's centre Opening celebrations of the children's centre
Stage set design, inspired by using reappropriated and adapted objects, a commonality in South African informal settlements African futurism inspired the combination of industrial materials, the use of violet lighting and a palate of silver, gold natural tones The theatre, located in a 'shack' in a Site C informal settlement Khayelitsha Metal ladder used as props inspired by the adaptive reuse of materials in informal settlements The stage set design, inspired by Afro-futurism, adaptive reuse of materials in informal settlements and a childlike depictions of the afterlife
Aerial impression of the precinct Impression of the green open space







sample pages of the report compiled by Stephanie Briers sample pages of the report compiled by Stephanie Briers
Exhibition concept Exhibition displaying 50 suspended models and a narrative of each school An old mud school and the newly built school in the background Aerial view of the rural context where the schools are situated
Phumezo's family home before building he volunteered to replace his house with the Empower Shack prototype Phumezo's new home as the first Empower Shack prototype Painting the Empower Shack prototype with Phumezo's family to promote the project Design Space Africa and friends who painted Phumezo's house After painting the Phumezo's house, the first Empower Shack prototype


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Content Disclaimer: the content represents and warrants that Stephanie Briers has worked on the content in collaboration with others and has the knowledge, skill and experience necessary to produce the works. Works are intellectual property of each client or employer explicitly mentioned. This site was created to showcase the skills, profession and expertise of Stephanie Briers.