Cloudland, in Brisbane’s Valley precinct, already coming in at $10 million, is set to open after 3 years in construction.

The building’s retractable glass roof allows it to literally open to the clouds above at the flick of a switch. The 1500 capacity venue will also house a 14 metre high wall of plants, a water feature wall, a hand-carved marble bar and an ‘unsupported’ rusted steel staircase.

The venue’s name is a tribute to the iconic Brisbane venue, the Cloudland Ballroom, which was controversially demolished in 1982.

“The name Cloudland epitomises all the excitement of our latest Valley venue and we believe it can live up to the institution that thrilled and entertained a whole generation,’’ says Managing Director of Katarzyna Group Raphael Bickle.

Designer, Nic Brunner is committed to nurturing the project from conception to opening night, “I come from a background of design where I have to be able to ‘make it’ as well as design it. I can’t design and hand it over and I don’t design unless I know how to make something,” he says.

“This job has enabled me to design something completely where I put it in cad and then give it to people on the team to bring to life. There’s nothing like getting into the space and being able to measure, look at plans and work it out.”

The new venue is set to bring the much-missed Cloudland elegance and opulence back to Brisbane.

Check out the progress at cloudland.tv