As the final phase of the highly successful Paintworks regeneration scheme, this planning application for Verve Properties comprises 93 apartments and 1,700 m2 of commercial space, in 28 individual units. Verve’s vision for Phase IV is to create a centre for the Paintworks site where routes converge from all sides onto a piazza, including a new pedestrian and cycle route running from the Bath Road into the heart of the Paintworks and onwards to join a cycleway that runs alongside the River Avon. The vision includes a substantial building in the south-east corner of the site that looks as though it has always been there, as the most important building on the Paintworks site.
Three of the four blocks are new-build in a mixture of ‘traditional warehouse’ and ‘contemporary’ styles, whilst the fourth is an existing block refurbished, with new-build inserts that create a central courtyard. Phase IV will become the heart of Paintworks, marking the main entrance with the piazza flanked by bold brick warehouses and a striking tower. The massing and style of the buildings is a fitting transition between the low existing brick sheds of Phases I and II and the 6-storey modernism of Phase III.