An important turning-point in his early career as an architect and urban planner was his traineeship during the years 1984–1985 at the Direction Générale de l’Urbanisme et de la Topographie in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso where he participated, among others, in the Wagadogo-Nossin District redevelopment and re-settlement project under the guidance of the Dutch urban planner Coen Beeker.

[2][4] After graduating from TU Delft, Folkers went on to work at the L+P architects' office in 1987 in Dar es Salaam, a city which also became his base for the next 25 years.

Notable projects realized in the Netherlands are visitor centres in nature reserves, temporary shelter for homeless people Omnizorg[6][7] in Apeldoorn and the restoration of Jongerius Villa[8] in Utrecht.

[10] Early activities of the organization focused in particular on research concerning modern architecture in Africa.Together with ArchiAfrika, he initiated a series of conferences in years 2005-2009 known under the common name African Perspectives.

After a decade of activity, the organization was handed over to a new Africa based team under the chairmanship of Joe Addo and has henceforth continued its operations from Ghana.

[11][12] The book gives an account of Folkers' personal experience from work on the continent as an architect and urban planner and provides an outline, analysis, and comparison of a number of projects which are sat in the broader context of the history of African architecture.