[A]FA Tamale Old Airfield

We are working towards the implementation of the first zone of [A]FA´s Tamale Old Airfield project, commissioned by the municipality of the city of Tamale, in northern Ghana. The lab brings together a material focus and landscaping design, with the aim of continuing to create environments for human and non-human co-existence from the micro to the macro scale. In-depth investigations into water supply, tree species and vegetation, in collaboration with a professional tree nursery and water engineers, research on habitat requirements for all kinds of non-human species, and 1:1 experiments on composite materials made from runway debris, agro-waste, second-hand plastic and textiles, concrete, asphalt and earth, combined with contemporary technologies, will set the framework and articulate the parameters for the next design phases towards implementation, in 2024. Thereby actual needs in resonance with the site, such as the integration of infrastructural requirements regarding circulation, drainage and lighting, are being considered.

Since 2020, [A]FA has been focusing on Tamale´s inner-urban peripheries as a long-term engagement with the city. Currently in its third phase, the project focuses on the Tamale Old Airfield. The project team has been working on planning, landscape and design proposals for a soft transformation of the massive site into a recreational space, commissioned by the local traditional chiefs and government. The international student team has been conceptualizing, designing and 1:1 testing spatial interventions that highlight and spatially translate the already existing characteristics and potential of this very special open place and public space. Five different zones have been defined, with allocated spaces for recreational, cultural and economic activities. The notions of ecologies, multi-species inhabitation, and the use of vegetation for the transformation of the site thereby play key roles in creating not only useable, shaded spaces, but also in bringing wild ‘nature’ back into the city.

Teaching: 

Baerbel Mueller, with Magdalena Gorecka and Abdul-Rauf Issahaque

Lab : February 2024, Tamale, Ghana then ongoing at I oA, Vienna, Austria

The team consists of the core team members of the previous TTD lab, new students can apply and join the team.