Bank House, Leeds

Architect	Building Design Partnership
Date Built	1969 - 1971
Location	27 King Street
Description
Bank House derives its name from the fact that it was once a branch of the Bank of England, which also explains its fortress-like design.  The building is an inverted ziggurat of in-situ reinforced-concrete construction with grey Cornish granite and bronze cladding.  There are 5-storeys and a basement. The building is Grade II Listed in part because, "... it is the most architecturally ambitious and accomplished example of the Bank of England's 1960s programme of rebuilding regional branches/bullion centres" and "... it is a good example of the work of Building Design Partnership, the largest of the multi-disciplinary practices operating in the 1960s/70s, marrying engineering complexity and architectural finesse, and it was regarded by BDP as a milestone project for the firm". The Historic England notes also includes among the reasons for listing that, "... the exterior is largely unaltered, and whilst the interior is plain and has undergone alteration in places, a number of notable original features survive, including the former banking hall's granite-lined walls, two honed-granite stairs, and the granite-lined walls and floor in the entrance foyer off Park Place."

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