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

Building Team | Dec 9, 2019

The right funding mechanism can help move your project forward

The following case studies illustrate some of the ways we’ve helped our clients navigate different tax credits.

Building Team | Nov 12, 2019

Autodesk and AGC to provide construction industry with custom-fitting safety harnesses for women

Construction technology provider and national trade organization launch grant program to help address industry need for better-fitting personal protective equipment (PPE) for women working at heights.

Building Team | Oct 7, 2019

Contractor Giants are all in on offsite construction

Speed, quality, advanced coordination, and schedule gains are commonly cited as benefits of offsite construction.

Building Team | Jul 17, 2019

12 key features your AEC website could be lacking

Today’s A/E/C firms can no longer rely on the brochure-style websites of the past.

Building Team | May 21, 2019

Real estate learns to share

The sharing economy puts a different spin on new construction and building operations.

Building Team | Mar 22, 2019

AEC firms go outside the box

A look at six products and companies incubated by AEC firms for commercial sale.

Building Team | Feb 19, 2019

Strategies and tools to help navigate a successful M&A

Based on Hinge’s industry research, smaller firms typically spend a higher percentage of revenue on marketing and business development efforts for the same return.

Building Team | Feb 13, 2019

3 exciting tech developments that show promise for AEC adoption

The BD+C editorial team is on a mission to track and evaluate the latest tech tools and trends that show promise for widespread AEC adoption.

Building Team | Jan 10, 2019

Skilled labor shortages continue to make off-site fabrication and construction attractive

But the AEC industry’s “culture” impedes greater acceptance, according to a recent National Institute of Building Sciences survey.

Building Team | Jan 7, 2019

2019 outlook: Firms not betting on another record-setting year

Despite the positive indicators for the market, AEC professionals remain largely cautious when it comes to growth prospects for 2019.

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