In Anderlecht, the Scheut branch of the L’Escale Nord cultural centre has been restored to its former glory thanks to the work of the Brussels-based practice a practice. The project draws on the value of withdrawal and what is already there as sources of a certain poetic imagination.

You have to pass through a carriage entrance to discover the garden hidden behind the buildings on Rue Léopold de Swaef. At the far end of this vast, newly renovated inner courtyard stands the black monolith of the Scheut cultural centre, contrasting sharply with the still-pristine whiteness of the render over insulation. An enigmatic structure, barely disturbed by the presence of a large, old cherry tree that seems to mark its entrance.