Detailed plans have been unveiled for the redevelopment of Argyle House, the Edinburgh building that served as the exterior filming location for Netflix's crime drama series Dept Q. The brutalist 1960s structure, located at West Port in the shadows of Edinburgh Castle, could be demolished and replaced with a comprehensive mixed-use development featuring a hotel, residential units, office spaces, and retail areas.
Developer Hendersonherd released artist's impressions and consultation documents outlining the proposed transformation of the iconic building. The company stated that the plans are being considered ahead of the building's lease expiration in 2033 to ensure the site can be regenerated and continue delivering economic benefits to the city. According to the documentation, ongoing monitoring has identified that the building is approaching the end of its usable lifespan and no longer meets the requirements of modern occupiers, though current tenants remain unaffected by the proposals.
The redevelopment proposal has sparked significant controversy within Edinburgh's architectural community. Malcolm Fraser, a prominent Edinburgh architect, issued a scathing critique in an open letter addressed to politicians, amenity group leaders, and Edinburgh officials. Fraser denounced the proposal as "madness" given the severity of the climate emergency and environmental waste concerns, arguing that demolishing a sturdy, solid, and functional building would condemn enormous amounts of embodied carbon to waste. He praised Argyle House as a distinguished modernist building in a city that continues to erase its recent architectural heritage.
Fraser further defended the building's design, describing its "sturdy, gray monumentality" as characteristically Edinburgh. He highlighted the structure's thoughtful urban planning, noting how it steps back from the tight junction at the head of West Port, creating space that he believed would have earned approval from Patrick Geddes, the renowned town planning expert and Edinburgh hero, who advocated for "letting some light in." Despite this architectural defense, Argyle House, constructed between 1966 and 1969, has frequently been criticized as one of Edinburgh's least attractive architectural features.
The building has gained significant media attention through its appearances in popular television productions. The rear annexe on Johnston Terrace houses tech workspace CodeBase and was prominently featured in Netflix's Dept Q series, which debuted earlier this year. The show, starring Matthew Goode as cold case department leader DCI Carl Morck, relocated the setting from the original Copenhagen location in Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen's books to Edinburgh for the Netflix adaptation. Additionally, the building's front facade served as headquarters for the fictional Lothian Police force in the ITV series Crime, written by Irvine Welsh.
The property's ownership and leasing arrangements reflect its significant commercial value. Argyle House was sold to US real estate firm PGIM Real Estate for approximately £38 million ($47 million) in 2023. Originally constructed to house local and national government offices, the building now accommodates various private companies. Telereal Trillium, which leases the CodeBase facility from PGIM, maintains a lease on the building until 2033, the same year the head lease expires.
Netflix announced in August that Dept Q would return for a second season, adding another layer of cultural significance to the redevelopment debate. The building's transformation from government offices to a filming location for internationally distributed content demonstrates Edinburgh's evolving role in the global entertainment industry. As the 2033 lease expiration approaches, the fate of this controversial brutalist structure will likely continue generating discussion about balancing urban development needs with architectural preservation and environmental responsibility in Scotland's capital city.
