The extreme environment and relative proximity to Earth make the centre of our Galaxy a unique astrophysical laboratory. The gas properties, radiation field, cosmic ray ionisation rate, etc., are more similar to those in the centre of other galaxies, starbursts and high-z galaxies than the Solar neighbourhood. It is the only such extreme environment in which it is possible to resolve down to size scales of individual forming stars and link the small-scale physics of star formation and feedback with the galactic-scale processes that together drive the evolution of galaxies. This poster presents the ALMA large project ``ALMA Central Molecular Zone Exploration Survey” (ACES), which utilises ALMA’s revolutionary combination of sensitivity, resolution and image fidelity to exploit this extreme laboratory within the central few 100pc of our Galaxy, and provide a new benchmark in a multi-scale understanding of star formation.