[APPLIED] FOREIGN AFFAIRS is a trans-disciplinary lab investigating spatial, infrastructural, environmental, and cultural phenomena in rural and urban Sub-Saharan Africa.

Each lab project centers on a distinct question or commission 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 that focus on the status and potential of a specific region or situation.

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.