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We are excited to have been shortlisted in a team with Aart architects, Sloth Møller and PK3 for Ballerup Psychiatric Centre new general intensive care unit. The project comprises the development of a 1,300m2 building, expanding the hospital’s capacity with two bed units of 16 beds each and creating a comfortable and safe environment for patients, visitors and staff.

Steensen Varming looks forward to participating in and delivering two presentations at the 4th International Utzon Symposium on 7th- 9th March 2014, The Sydney Opera House &UNSW CBD Campus. In collaboration between UNSW Australia, the Jørn Utzon Research Network (JURN) and the Utzon Research Center (URC), the University of Portsmouth, UK and Aalborg University, Denmark, the Symposium is an inter-disciplinary reflection of Utzon’s diverse influences and attributes asking the question ‘What would Utzon do now?’

Based around the iconic building that brought Steensen Varming to Australia, we will address the interpretation of Utzon Design Principles for the integration of technology and services at Sydney Opera House, and the original and current methods enabling these.

Read more about the Utzon Symposium or register here

Steensen Varming wishes everyone a Happy New Year. 2013 was a very exciting year which saw us into the 80th year since our foundation in Copenhagen as well as the 40th year since our establishment in Australia following our work on the design of Sydney Opera House with Jørn Utzon. We were very proud to participate in the anniversary celebrations of the iconic building, including the Danish Design at the House exhibition and sponsoring MADE, the Multidisciplinary Australian Danish Exchange programme which will run over the next ten years. In addition, our many successful projects picked up the following awards –

Art Gallery of NSW Forecourt Upgrade

National Architecture Awards, Small Project

Auckland Art Gallery

World Architecture Festival, World Building of the Year

Brisbane Supreme Court

IES Australia and New Zealand Award of Excellence

Australian Institute of Architects Public Architecture, National Award

The Eucalyptus woodland free-air CO2 enrichment (EucFACE) facility

Engineers Australia Sydney Division, Excellence Award, Environment & Heritage

Australian Engineering Excellence Awards, Finalist

Kings Avenue Overpass

Illumni Silver Infinity Award

IES North America Lighting Design Award of Excellence

IES The Paul Waterbury Award for Outdoor Lighting Design, Award of Excellence

IES North America Illumination Awards, International Section

‘Magic Mushroom’ LED Landscape Luminaire (Art Gallery of New South Wales cafe courtyard)

IES NSW Award of Commendation

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

Museums Australia Magna National Winner

City of Hobart Heritage Award

Great Hall, University of Technology Sydney

IES North America Illumination Awards, Award of Merit

IES North America Illumination Awards, International Section

Waterloo Youth Family Community Centre

NSW Architecture Awards, Sulman Medal for Public Architecture

IAMFA Diplomat Award

Presented to Steensen Varming for exceptional contributions to the state of design, construction, operation and maintenance of cultural facilities around the globe.

We look forward to seeing you in 2014 and what this year will bring.

Orange was the new white and the latest shade of light cast on the Opera House by Steensen Varming’s lighting team, this time marking the last performance of the Dutch Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on December 1 2013. The concert ended the symphony orchestra’s biggest world tour ever through Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and finally Australia, celebrating its 125 years as one of the best orchestras in the world.

The Sydney Opera House has launched the campaign Own Our House, allowing people to show their support for the Opera House by buying virtual tiles on its tallest sail and becoming Housemates.

Steensen Varming supports this great cause that will help fund renewal of the building and ensure the iconic masterpiece that brought us to Australia will continue to inspire artists, audiences and visitors for many generations to come.

From an online virtual model of the Opera House you can select the tile you wish to buy and even discover the view from it. Tiles can also be bought as gifts – a great idea for this year’s Christmas presents.

Read more about Own Our House and buy a virtual tile here

On Friday 22 November the Illuminating Engineering Society, NSW Chapter presented the NSW Lighting Awards at the Sydney Convention Centre in Darling Harbour. Steensen Varming proudly picked up an Award of Commendation for the Magic Mushroom LED Landscape Luminaire, recently designed for the Art Gallery of New South Wales cafe courtyard.

Read more on the NSW IES Lighting Awards

On Thursday 21 November we celebrated our 80th anniversary in Copenhagen at Danish Architecture Centre in the pleasant company of friends, clients and colleagues from our global studios.

Guests were greeted by Bach’s solo suites for cello played by Estera Rajnicka and had the opportunity to view the centre’s autumn exhibition Greenland – Head for the centre of the world as well as Steensen Varming’s own contribution in the Danish Design at the House exhibition which formed part of the Sydney Opera House 40th anniversary celebrations in October 2013.

Speeches capturing a reflection of the past, future and present of Steensen Varming were held by CEO Dan Mackenzie, designer and grandson of founder Jørgen Varming, Søren Varming and senior mechanical engineer, Tommi Haferbier Nielsen.

After eight decades of supporting an exceptional cast of internationally influential architects and buildings, Steensen Varming will continue to integrate global expertise with local knowledge and support projects in research, education and art with Danish design as an important basis of our history and way of thinking.

See more photos from the event

November 14th is World Diabetes Day. What better way to raise the awareness of the condition than to adorn one of the world’s most iconic buildings in a wash of blue, the international colour for diabetes awareness? Steensen Varming is, once again, proud to have contributed to a good cause by casting light.

Friday night the Opera House launched the Danish Design at the House exhibition as part of its 40th Anniversary celebrations, transforming the Western Foyer into a series of installations inspired by the sparse, elegant modernism of Danish design. We were very honoured to meet Denmark’s Crown Prince Couple, HRH Crown Prince Frederik and HRH Crown Princess Mary and explain the approach and way of thinking behind the building design enabling this iconic building.

Above: CEO Dan Mackenzie and Søren Varming, designer of Steensen Varming’s exhibition display and grandson of co-founder, Jørgen Varming, with HRH Crown Princess Mary.

More photos from Danish Design at the House

Steensen Varming are very honoured to have been awarded the IES North America Lighting Design Award of Excellence 2013 for our work on Kings Avenue Overpass as the only Australian project from a selection of around 400 projects around the world.

Kings Avenue Overpass is a significant piece of urban and traffic infrastructure in Canberra with an indirect underpass lighting system and programmable led façade lighting. It has significantly improved safety for motorists and pedestrians

Read more about the Kings Avenue Overpass project