flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Currently Reading

Cincinnati’s Andrew J Brady Music Center transforms the city’s riverfront

Building Team

Cincinnati’s Andrew J Brady Music Center transforms the city’s riverfront

The venue can seat 4,400 people indoors—and twice that number outdoors.


By Novid Parsi, Contributing Editor | May 9, 2022
Andrew J Brady Music Center ext
Courtesy Brad Feinknopf.

In Cincinnati, Ohio, the Andrew J Brady Music Center aims to connect audiences with live music while transforming Cincinnati’s riverfront. Designed by GBBN, the project, which opened in mid-2021, intends to reshape how people throughout the region engage with public space on the banks of the Ohio River.

With its entrance facing the river, the venue can seat 4,400 people on three levels indoors and can host 8,800 people for the seasonal stage outdoors. Between the indoor and outdoor spaces, the Brady Center for Music can host 140 to 160 concert events a year. 

The inside venue provides clear sightlines from all vantage points, whether from the floor or the balconies. That has been achieved with structural V columns that occupy less floor space and are less visually obstructive than straight, vertical columns, helping to ensure unobstructed views of the stage. The venue also includes dressing rooms, VIP spaces, and outdoor patios. 

Outside, the venue features perforated, color-shifting metal panels as part of a Kolorshift system that creates a dynamic facade day or night. Called Purple Rain, the product ensures no two views of the exterior are ever the same. The center also provides multiple access points—the street, parking garage, and adjacent park—so that patrons can easily access the venue by foot, car, or shared ride.

Messer Construction poured 4,900 square feet of concrete for the stage, loading dock, and exterior areas. Fun fact: Someone who owns 2,250 albums could cover the entire square footage of the stage with their record collection.

Other Team Members:

Owner: Music Entertainment Management Inc.

Design architect and architect of record: GBBN 

MEP engineer: CMTA and Veregy (formerly Dynamix Engineering) 

Acoustics: Harvey Marshall Berling Associates 

Structural engineer: THP 

General contractor/construction manager: Messer Construction

Andrew J Brady Music Center ext
Courtesy Brad Feinknopf.
Andrew J Brady Music Center int
Courtesy Brad Feinknopf.
Andrew J Brady Music Center int 2
Courtesy Brad Feinknopf.

 

Related Stories

Codes and Standards | May 3, 2022

American Institute of Steel Construction updates environmental product declarations

The American Institute of Steel Construction has released updated environmental product declarations (EPDs) “to help designers and building owners design more environmentally friendly buildings and bridges,” according to an AISC news release.

Education Facilities | May 2, 2022

Texas School for the Deaf campus gateway enhances sense of belonging for deaf community

The recently completed Texas School for the Deaf Administration and Welcome Center and Early Learning Center, at the state’s oldest continuously operating public school, was designed to foster a sense of belonging for the deaf community.

Codes and Standards | May 2, 2022

Developer Hines, engineer MKA develop free embodied carbon reduction guide

Real estate management and investment firm Hines has released the Hines Embodied Carbon Reduction Guide. The free guide, produced with Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), is the result of a two-year effort, relying on MKA’s industry-leading knowledge of carbon accounting and involvement in programs such as the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) Tool.

Building Team | May 2, 2022

HED and VAI announce merger to bring strategic expertise and drive community impact in Dallas

HED (Harley Ellis Devereaux), a leading national architecture and engineering  firm, today announced a merger with award-winning, Dallas-based VAI Architects Incorporated (VAI).

Laboratories | Apr 29, 2022

Oracle Industry Lab in Chicago enables development of solutions for multiple industries

The Oracle Industry Lab in Chicago, which provides customers in multiple industries the opportunity to test new technologies, recently opened.

Market Data | Apr 29, 2022

U.S. economy contracts, investment in structures down, says ABC

The U.S. economy contracted at a 1.4% annualized rate during the first quarter of 2022.

Codes and Standards | Apr 28, 2022

Architecture firm Perkins&Will to deliver ‘carbon forecasts’ for clients

Global architecture firm Perkins&Will says it will issue its clients a “carbon forecast” for their projects.

Retail Centers | Apr 28, 2022

Cannabis dispensary Beyond-Hello debuts ‘glass-box’ design for Culver City facility

Los Angeles’ Culver City will open its first cannabis dispensary with Beyond/Hello.  

Office Buildings | Apr 28, 2022

A 48-story office tower to rise over boomtown Austin

In downtown Austin, Texas, a planned 48-story office tower, The Republic, recently secured its first major tenant—allowing for the groundbreaking by midyear.

Codes and Standards | Apr 27, 2022

White House guidance on Buy American for infrastructure includes waiver process

Recently released guidance on the Buy American provision within the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act released by the Office of Management and Budget includes a waiver process.

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category



Giants 400

Top 75 Engineering Firms for 2023

Kimley-Horn, WSP, Tetra Tech, Langan, and IMEG head the rankings of the nation's largest engineering firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.


halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021