Andrew J. Brady Music Center

The Andrew J. Brady Music Center opened in July, 2021. The 62,000 square foot venue is located along the Ohio River in the Banks development in downtown Cincinnati. The engineering team worked closely with the architect, interior designer, theater consultant, acoustical consultant, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) consultant to create an outstanding performance venue that is nationally recognized. This facility provides a site for over 150 shows annually, seating 4,500 people on 3 levels. The building was constructed on top of a new 60,000 square foot garage.

The facility owner, Music & Event Management, Inc. (MEMI), wanted the impact of this new music venue to “reverberate beyond just the building itself, reshaping how people throughout the region engage with public space along the Banks of the Ohio River.” CMTA embraced this vision and worked diligently to ensure the building systems achieved this.

The building is served by a high efficiency condensing boiler system that utilizes the underground downtown corridor chilled water system. This chilled and hot water serves air handling units throughout the building. The air distribution system is broken into three areas. The main performance space is served by two VAV air handling units. The air handling units are zoned so that the space can accommodate smaller shows while saving energy and only conditioning areas that are being used. 

The lighting, both interior and exterior, highlights the modern design both during the day and at night, emphasizing the energy of the venue from the live stage to its view from the city and Ohio River. The team utilized interior lighting of the space to create a glow from within during the evening, but also supplemented this with exterior façade lighting to create a fun and inviting atmosphere.

The results are breathtaking, and hundreds of thousands of people will benefit from and enjoy this music center each year.