Social trigger. New Guabu­li­ga Mar­ket by [ap­p­lied] For­eign Af­fairs

[applied] Foreign Affairs is a trans-disciplinary lab investigating spatial, infrastructural, environmental and cultural phenomena in rural and urban Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. Each lab project centers on a distinct question or clear mission and culminates in field trips and residencies through which (applied) research, mappings, rural and urban growth patterns, urban prototypes, imaginary (art) spaces, and relational physical interventions are produced.

A series of lectures and talks introduces students to the spatial diversity and cultural vibrancy of the contemporary condition of the respective project context, followed by workshops which focus on the status and potential of a specific region. The process of relating and making is conceptualized in a reactive and slowed-down manner. Conditions of uncertainty and fragility are embraced. The outcome of each lab is presented in different formats and contexts.
 

Baerbel Mueller is an architect and researcher based in Vienna, Austria and Ghana, and an Associate Professor at the Institute of Architecture (IoA) at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria. She studied architecture at the Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Germany, and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where she graduated with honours in 2002. From 2002 to 2011, she has been teaching at the studio of Wolf D. Prix (Studio Prix), directing student realization projects and transdisciplinary courses.

Since October 2011 she is head of the IoA lab [applied] Foreign Affairs, which investigates spatial and cultural phenomena in rural and urban Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle-East through research-based workshops and field trips. She is founder of nav_s baerbel mueller [navigations in the field of architecture and urban research within diverse cultural contexts}, which has focused on projects located on the African continent since 2002.

Her work comprises architecture, urban research, installations, scenography, and curatorial projects, and has been widely exhibited; e.g. at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2006, the Architekturmuseum Pinakothek Munich in 2013, and the Marrakech Biennial in 2016. She received various prizes and scholarships. In 2015, she was awarded with the Ars Docendi State Award for excellence in teaching by the Republic of Austria. In 2017, she edited [applied] Foreign Affairs - investigation spatial phenomena in rural and urban Sub-Saharan Africa.