Brussels' Justice Palace scaffolding removed (in Photoshop at least)

The scaffolding on Brussels' Justice Palace has been removed - at least in this picture, which is the result of 12 hours of painstaking work in Photoshop.

If you have lived in Belgium for less than about 35 years, then you have no idea how the vast court building looks without its ubiquitous scaffolding, which has become a normal part of the Brussels skyline.

Balo, a Youtuber who posts video tips on how to edit images, wanted to fix that. "Apart from old photos from the 1970s or 1980s, it's very hard to imagine what the palace would look like without the scaffolding," he said.

He explained the work involved: "I used the 'clone stamp' tool in Photoshop and I just duplicated some of the brickwork to erase the scaffolding little by little. Then I did the same with pieces of sky and just duplicated those. The only problem is that I had to do it bit by bit, so it took a lot of time."

Twelve hours on Photoshop might sound like a long time - but it's nothing compared to the renovation itself. The scaffolding will not disappear from view until 2032, when exterior renovations to the 19th-century, 26,000m² building are due to be finished.

Works to the interior of the building, though, will take longer – estimated to finish in about 2040.

The scaffolding made headlines a few years ago when it, too, was rusting and breaking down, with parts of it needing to be replaced. It cannot simply be removed because it includes supports that are literally holding the walls together.

Meanwhile, another construction has just sprung up outside the court building on Place Poelaert - a 55-metre-high ferris wheel offering panoramic views of the city for €8.

The wheel, which was recently used at the Foire du Midi funfair, will now be accessible every day until late November. It will then move downtown to the Christmas market.

Photo: Balo/YouTube screengrab