The much-anticipated maintenance works on the facade of the Palais de Justice in Brussels began on Monday, 140 years after the initial opening of the courthouse.
Aiming to have a scaffolding-free facade by 2024, Brussels wants the iconic building to be completely free of its steel cage by 2030 – in time for Belgium's 200th birthday. The project will cost €31,7 million, with restoration works having begun this summer. It is divided into several phases, with the facade's renovation starting today.
Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, Belgian State Secretary for Digital Agenda and Privacy Mathieu Michel and leading Brussels politicians including Ans Persoons and Philippe Close were present on site to mark the occasion in a special ceremony.
"On Monday morning, the day after the 140th anniversary of the Palais de Justice in Brussels, I officially launched the renovation work on the facades," said State Secretary Michel, who has been leading the project.
Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
Michel added that the renovation will remove the steel cage, boost the building's energy performance and restore Belgium's "sublime" architectural masterpiece: "These are the many objectives I have set myself for our nation's bicentenary [in 2030]."
A first phase will take around two years and should fully restore the front facade of the courthouse. The facade has suffered from wear-and-tear as well as moisture problems for years. It will be cleaned, the stones repaired and safety checks carried out.
Custom-made stones identical to the original stones from quarries in the French Burgundy region will be used for the repair work.
To avoid future moisture problems, the grouting between the stones will also be renewed. Furthermore, the courthouse's colonnade will be repaired in this first phase and the forecourt will also be completely redesigned.
Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
The next phase will be on the plinth of the dome, which was already refurbished in 2003, which is set to take place between 2026 and 2027.
Iconic scaffolding
Inaugurated in 1866 and built by Joseph Poelart, in its day it was the largest known construction – even bigger than Rome's St Peter's basilica. Still today, it remains the biggest courthouse in the world.
However, the building has become known for its temporary-turned-permanent scaffolding, which has surrounded the building since 1984. In 2013, it was reported that the decade-old scaffolding was so rusted and unsafe that the scaffolding itself was in need of renovation.
Earlier this year, it was finally announced, amid much anticipation, that the renovation works to remove the scaffolding would begin after summer 2023.
Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
"When, at the end of 2020, I expressed the ambition of restoring the Palais de Justice in Brussels and ridding it of its scaffolding after 40 years, I saw doubts and disbelief everywhere. And yet, today, the restoration work is well and truly underway," State Secretary Michel said in a press release in August.
The politician also told The Brussels Times in February that once the repairs are done, the first scaffolding on the main facade, facing Place Poelaert, will come down in April 2024.
