Buttress has submitted a planning application on behalf of Coventry City Council to convert a vacant 50,000 sq m (circa 538,000 sq ft) former IKEA building in Coventry into a major new arts and culture facility.
The council acquired the building in 2021 and the City Centre Cultural Gateway project is being delivered through a collaboration between Coventry City Council, CV Life, Arts Council England, the British Council and Coventry University.
The Arts Council and British Council will use the site as a hub for the care and national and international distribution of their collections.
Matthew Burl, associate director at Buttress, said: “This landmark project will not only create a new, state-of-the-art home for some of the country’s greatest works of art, but it will also allow more people in the UK and across the world to engage with these important collections. We are delighted to be working with Coventry City Council, its collaborators, and the wider project team to bring forward these ambitious plans and create a lasting cultural legacy from Coventry’s year as the city of culture.”
