d&b audiotechnik: Cloudland’s sumptuous delights
It might be the ground floor of the building, but in many ways the Cloudland nightclub, Australia is a gateway to an unexpected world of wonder. The brainchild of Raphael Bickle, part of the Bickle family, a family that has developed many interesting and popular clubs and bars in and around Melbourne; Cloudland is their first purpose built venue.
This spectacular entertainment complex spans four levels and is topped with a high tech’ retractable glass roof. Cascading within, a ten metre waterfall only begins to hint at the architectural phantasm that exists inside. Thousands of exotic plants, a white marble bar, another bar composed of nineteen thousand glass beads all individually hand threaded, and spectacular aerial staircases that seemingly float between floors, are just some of the sumptuous delights.
Bickle’s desire to have exciting vibrant décor is matched by the quality of the nightclub’s sound system; installed by Brisbane based IJS it features d&b audiotechnik Ci60 and E12-SUBs all hidden within the ceiling on custom mounts. Audio extends onto the next floor with an equally well concealed d&b system, this time E3 and E12 loudspeakers carefully placed, not to diminish the extravagant collection of artwork Bickle has assembled. “We had two imperatives when we approached this project,” said Ivan Simon, owner of IJS, “to sustain the driving ethos of unspoilt visual dynamics, and it had to sound as good as it looks.”
The results are self-evident; Bickle has synthesised all the fundamentals of the family’s experience in creating leisure venues, and produced something of breathtaking beauty.