The “Sandpits” are one of the most innovative activities of Circle U. Anchored within the ERIA (Empowering Research and Innovation Actions) initiative, the Sandpits experiment with new ways of creating collaborative partnerships.
Three locally seed funded projects
The 2023 edition of Circle U. Sandpits took place at UCLouvain and brought together junior and senior researchers from across the alliance to simulate new collaborations. It resulted in groundbreaking projects at the intersection of science, art, and society.
The successful 2023 Sandpits led to three projects that were awarded additional seed funding by UPCité to expand on potential collaborations: “Gaps and In Between : An Exploration of Alternative Ontologies for Viral Proliferation and Potential Solutions”, “CARE-ARTS : CARing for Caregivers. Exploring the Use of ARTS in Strengthening Caring Experiences” and “Epi-Org-Archi : Epigenesis of Organic Architecture” grounded themselves in the Circle U.’s Knowledge Hubs and engaged with experimental methods and artistic approaches for knowledge production.
Building on success from 2023
The most recent workshop “Epi-Org-Archi” took place on 19-20 September 2024 in Louvain-la-Neuve. The workshop brought together participants from Humboldt University in Berlin, Université Paris Cité, King’s College London and UCLouvain.
In a dynamic, multilingual, consensus-building process a dozen of participants questioned what it means for a physical space to become a place of transformation. Framed by architecture and emergence, the research collaboration worked on UCLouvain's nascent OpenLab project - the Portes de la transition. The collective brainstorming involved converging expertise from epigenetics, architecture, philosophy and sociology using the Portes de la transition as a case study. This lively interdisciplinary action was enriching for all involved and demonstrated the collaborative potential within Circle U.
