Detailed plans have been revealed for the redevelopment of Argyle House, the Edinburgh building that served as the exterior of the police station in Netflix's drama series Dept Q. The brutalist 1960s block, located at West Port in the shadows of Edinburgh Castle, could be demolished and replaced with a modern "mixed-use" development featuring a hotel, residential properties, office space, and retail facilities.
Developer Hendersonherd released artist's impressions and documentation as part of a public consultation on the proposed redevelopment project. According to the consultation document, the plans are being considered in advance of the building's lease expiring in 2033 "to ensure the site can be regenerated and continue to deliver economic benefit to the city." The document emphasized that existing occupiers would remain unaffected by these proposals until the headlease expires.
The developer justified the demolition by stating that "through ongoing monitoring work, it has been identified that the building is coming to the end of its usable lifespan and no longer meets the needs of the modern occupier." However, the proposal has faced strong criticism from architectural preservation advocates who argue that demolishing the building would be environmentally irresponsible.
Edinburgh architect Malcolm Fraser voiced sharp opposition to the plans in a recent open letter addressed to "politicians, amenity group leaders and general Edinburgh worthies." Fraser called the proposal "madness" given the seriousness of the climate emergency and the environmental impact of demolishing a structurally sound building. He argued that destroying the building would condemn "huge amounts of embodied carbon" to waste, adding to "the ocean of waste we condemn to landfill."
Fraser defended Argyle House as "a distinguished modernist building, in a city that continues to erase its recent heritage." He praised its architectural qualities, describing its "sturdy, grey monumentality" as "characteristically Edinburgh." The architect also noted that the building's design thoughtfully steps back from the tight junction at the head of West Port, which he said would have been approved by Patrick Geddes, a renowned town planning expert and "Edinburgh hero," who advocated for "letting some light in."
Argyle House, constructed between 1966 and 1969, has long been considered one of Edinburgh's most controversial pieces of architecture, frequently cited as one of the city's least attractive buildings. Despite this reputation, the building has gained recent recognition through its appearances in popular television productions. The property was sold to US firm PGIM Real Estate for approximately £38 million ($47 million) in 2023.
Originally built to house local and national government offices, the building now accommodates a variety of different businesses and organizations. The front of Argyle House previously served as the fictional headquarters of the Lothian Police force in the ITV series "Crime," written by Irvine Welsh. The rear annexe, located on Johnston Terrace, houses the tech workspace CodeBase and was featured in Netflix's Dept Q series.
The Netflix adaptation of Dept Q, which debuted earlier this year, relocated the setting from the original Copenhagen location in Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen's books to Edinburgh. The series stars Matthew Goode as DCI Carl Morck, the leader of a cold case department. Following its initial success, Netflix announced in August that the series would return for a second season, further cementing the building's connection to popular entertainment.
Telereal Trillium, which leases the CodeBase facility from PGIM, maintains a lease on the building that extends until 2033, the same year the main headlease expires. The proposed redevelopment represents a significant transformation for this section of Edinburgh's historic landscape, balancing modern development needs against concerns about architectural heritage preservation and environmental sustainability.
