By: Ethan Shen

Meet Andre Demesmaeker, the leading architect in charge of overseeing the restoration of the Palace of Justice. 10 years ago, he was working for the Belgian Government and was asked to investigate a ceiling collapse at the Palace of Justice. Built in the 19th century, this massive stone building was once a spectacular view at the heart of Brussels, but has been falling apart for decades. The original restoration project was started in 1984, but that was ridden with problems such as corruption, government reorganizations, a non-functional national government, and even the original scaffolding company went bankrupt. As time dragged on, even the scaffolding around the building has failed, needing its own renovation.

As Mr Demesaeker walked through hallways untouched for decades, he fell in love with the building. There were rooms where it seemed that the inhabitants just disappeared one day. Old magazines, a coffee pot, a coat… Mr Demesaeker just fell in love with the building. As an architect, but also as a person, he wanted to be in charge of the restoration efforts. Four years later, he got the job. His job seemed ideal for someone proficient in politics, as there were numerous local governments, lawyers, courts, and powerful individuals that all needed to be won over in order to continue the project. Mr Demesaeker, by his own admission, is not that. However, he does have a powerful passion and love of the building. He’s had to make compromises and deals with almost every court in the country, as well as French and Dutch speaking lawyers who do not even want to share the building’s library. However, Mr. Demesaeker does have a lot of love for this building, and arguably the one thing that this monument suffered the most from is the lack of love.