How do academia and architecture come together? The ACTE project, involving the renovation of ULB’s research centre on autistic disorders, illustrates the possibility of a common language rooted in community and dialogue. Designed by Central, this programme has been woven out of meetings and discussions involving architects, researchers and autistic people. The result steers clear of all normativity.

The renovation of the research centre for autism spectrum disorders at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) is characterised by a number of striking design decisions. The rounded forms and the use of pastel colours contrast ironically with the scientific, rational and rigorous world of the Solbosch campus. The new intervention, which displays a certain contemporary aesthetic, is, however, a fully-fledged part of the scientific project. The question is: how did this architecture come about in a sombre, academic environment?