The interdisciplinary laboratory [applied] Foreign Affairs has been operating in Gauboulig since 2011, dealing with urban planning, infrastructure and environmental projects. The Architecture Masterprize awarded market is the most recent example of their activity in northern Ghana to date. The project's purpose and function goes far beyond narrowly understood trade, to the extent that it may in the future be able to slow down migration from rural areas - where Gaubuliga is located - to Ghana's big cities.
The market can already be called successful: its construction was completed in 2019, but it soon became clear that its size did not match its popularity, and in February 2020 it was expanded with two additional zones, where you can engage in far more than just trade.
The structure consists of a platform base, a light roof on slender supports, and an adobe shop for the sale of local products, reminiscent of traditional granaries. There is water supply, there is where to sit and rest. The second phase covered areas with gravel surfaces and hook poles that could be used for stowing goods or for sheltering.
These "capacities", as planned, attracted traders from all over the area to Gaubuliga, became the center of social life, and enabled residents who acquired new skills in crafts or food procurement to do business (training is part of the development system of this village).
The “cellular” structure of the market facilitates its possible future expansion, while its simple yet elegant forms allow it to be used in a wide variety of forms.
The site was chosen within the framework of another [applied] Foreign Affairs project, the Gaubuliga Green Belt (since 2012), an undeveloped strip linking the center of the village with the river. The construction was carried out by local workers, including qualified ones. The customers were the developing village NGO Braveaurora and the local leader.
The [applied] Foreign Affairs laboratory is headed by Professor Berbel Müller, who has been working in Ghana for a long time. One of her recent buildings in this country, although quite different in purpose and budget, we
published recently.
