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
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 90 University Contractors and Construction Management Firms for 2022
Turner Construction, Whiting-Turner Contracting, PCL Construction Enterprises, and DPR Construction lead the ranking of the nation's largest university sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 90 Construction Management Firms for 2022
CBRE, Alfa Tech, Jacobs, and Hill International head the rankings of the nation's largest construction management (as agent) and program/project management firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 45 Engineering Architecture Firms for 2022
Jacobs, AECOM, WSP, and Burns & McDonnell top the rankings of the nation's largest engineering architecture (EA) firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 19, 2022
2022 Giants 400 Report: Tracking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
Now 46 years running, Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report rankings the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. This year a record 519 AEC firms participated in BD+C's Giants 400 report. The final report includes more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 17, 2022
California strip mall goes multifamily residential
Tiny Tim Plaza started out as a gas station and a dozen or so stores. Now it’s a thriving mixed-use community, minus the gas station.
| Aug 10, 2022
Gresham Smith Founder, Batey M. Gresham Jr., passes at Age 88
It is with deep sadness that Gresham Smith announces the passing of Batey M. Gresham Jr., AIA—one of the firm’s founders.
Sponsored | | Aug 4, 2022
Brighter vistas: Next-gen tools drive sustainability toward net zero line
New technologies, innovations, and tools are opening doors for building teams interested in better and more socially responsible design.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 3, 2022
7 tips for designing fitness studios in multifamily housing developments
Cortland’s Karl Smith, aka “Dr Fitness,” offers advice on how to design and operate new and renovated gyms in apartment communities.
Building Materials | Aug 3, 2022
Shawmut CEO Les Hiscoe on coping with a shaky supply chain in construction
BD+C's John Caulfield interviews Les Hiscoe, CEO of Shawmut Design and Construction, about how his firm keeps projects on schedule and budget in the face of shortages, delays, and price volatility.
Green | Jul 26, 2022
Climate tech startup BlocPower looks to electrify, decarbonize the nation's buildings
The New York-based climate technology company electrifies and decarbonizes buildings—more than 1,200 of them so far.
