My Favourite Building
Every week, TheBusinessDesk.com invites a Yorkshire property professional to reveal their favourite building and explain what makes it so special to them.
This week:
Lori Campbell, design consultant with property consultancy Knight Frank in Leeds – various Leeds city centre landmarks.
“Growing up in Leeds it was always the historic element that I loved. The castles, follys and ecclesiastical buildings we have throughout Yorkshire have always interested me simply because of their diverse history.
“Within Leeds city centre the City of Mabgate pub near the West Yorkshire Playhouse is a favourite simply because of its juxtaposition to the surrounding commercial/industrial buildings from the 1960s. A stubborn personality in a building always raises a smile in me.
“Another favourite is the Cross Keys pub, part of the Round Foundry media centre area on Water Lane. I actually like the whole Cross Keys area and the fact that a strong percentage of Leeds’ thriving design community are based around that particular watering hole.
“The building itself is a 200 year old inn which reopened in 1995. The interior is simple, cosy yet contemporary (love the Moose’s head upstairs) and is a prime example of a conversion that hasn’t attempted to go overboard in its finishes. It’s a perfect balance of old & new and I love it.
“On the commercial side I visited No2 Wellington Place recently with a colleague and discovered a breathtaking view from the southern side. Standing for a while within the building I observed a number of positive aspects that many people would be hard pushed to discover normally within any busy, commercial area of Leeds.
“Aside from the amazing view (plenty of greenery and strong historical elements), there is a general calm to this commercial area. The lack of noise, the green-rich view and the amazing amount of space made me feel like I was stood within an office in the foothills of the dales! Fantastic! As I said earlier Leeds never fails to surprise me even after all this time.”
