Andy Hutchinson reflects on one of the most striking buildings in Leeds which has always divided opinion.
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00:00Hi and welcome to Leeds Den and today with me, Andrew Hutchinson.
00:04It's the building whose architecture divides opinion among Leeds residents.
00:08Quarry House is where the Playhouse is and all them places there.
00:12I think it's pretty bland.
00:14I think it's back in time.
00:16I think I prefer the architecture that looks like this.
00:18It's always one that kind of intrigues and it's probably when I moved to Leeds
00:21one of the first buildings that I really noticed as well.
00:23It's like something out of a space sage.
00:25It's a bit of a Star Wars set up.
00:28Whether you like it or love it, Quarry House, nicknamed the Kremlin,
00:31has now been part of the cityscape for 20 years.
00:35It opened in July 1993 at a cost of £55 million
00:39and housed the Department of Health and Social Security
00:42with more than 2,000 staff working there.
00:45Dominating the eastern gateway to the city,
00:47the building takes its name from the flats which once stood on the site.
00:51There are lots of archived photos of Quarry House,
00:53including this one when it was under construction in September 1992.
00:57Visitors were greeted by this specially woven water-themed carpet in the foyer
01:02and staff members could enjoy a workout in the gym and swimming pool after work.
01:07They used to have a women's only swimming session on a Wednesday
01:13where public, but only women, could use it for an hour.
01:17I don't know what goes on in there actually.
01:19It's a bit, what do they do in there?
01:21What are they doing?
01:25The building was purchased by Legal in General in 2019 for more than £240 million
01:32and Leeds was selected as the home of the Department for Work and Pension's
01:35second headquarters in 2021.
01:38Whether you like or you love Quarry House,
01:41it's certainly been part of people's lives for more than 20 years now.
01:45The building in many ways has a sense of mystery about it
01:50and today it's still serving a purpose,
01:52but as more people start to work from home,
01:55who knows what the future may hold for the building.
01:58Thanks for watching.