Steensen Varming
Encyclopedia
Steensen Varming is a Danish engineering firm. It was founded by Niels Steensen & Jørgen Varming in Copenhagen
, Denmark
, in 1933. The firm specialised in civil, structural and building services engineering. During the 20th century, the practice grew out of Denmark and new offices were established in Australia (Steensen Varming Australia ‐ 1973), United Kingdom (Steensen Varming Mulcahy ‐ 1957) and Ireland (Varming Mulcahy Reilly Associates ‐ 1947).
Jorgen Varming was the son of a prominent Danish Architect, he studied Engineering at the University of Newcastle and had a philosophy of sympathetic mutual respect for both engineering and architecture. His understanding of building services and pursuit of comfort, light and colour struck an accord with many architects at that time, who were pursuing stimulating, visual, ergonomic spaces for human occupancy and led to Steensen & Varming working with a number of well established Architects.
Steensen & Varming is founded by Niels Steensen & Jogen Varming in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their first commission was the new University Library in Copenhagen followed by research laboratories for Niels Bohr
.
1937
Steensen & Varming contribute to the Aarhus Town Hall competition project with architects Arne Jacobsen
and Eric Moller.
1940
Niels Steensen developed a system of construction using hollow tiles, making floors and roofs lighter and less expensive.
1946
Jorgen Varming together with the Irish engineer Sean Mulcahy, establish Varming Mulcahy Reilly Associates office in Ireland to work on the Irish transport Corporation's main office and bus terminal in Dublin by RIBA gold medal winner Michael Scott.
1957
Via the Irish office, Steensen Varming Mulcahy is established in London to work on projects such as Coventry Cathedral with Sir Basil Spence and St Catherine's College, Oxford, with Arne Jacobsen.
Steensen Varming is established in Australia by the Danish practice following success in winning the commission to design the Sydney Opera House with Jørn Utzon.
1959
Niels Steensen establishes an office in Edinburgh, coinciding with a rapid expansion in the Scottish building sector, undertaking many commissions with Sir Robert Matthews, Johnson-Marshall and Sir Basil Spence.
1967
The Edinburgh University Library is opened, the first fully air conditioned university library in the United Kingdom
.
Steensen Varming Mulcahy worked in close consultation with Sir Basil Spence to achieve a design solution which integrated building services with the architecture a new concept for the time.
1969
Steensen Varming Mulcahy begins work on the Arndale shopping centre in Manchester, the first covered and air conditioned shopping centre in the United Kingdom.
1970
Steensen Varming The UK begins work on the Nottingham Playhouse
, the first new theatre to be built in England in 200 years.
1973
The Sydney Opera House
is opened including an innovative chilled ceiling system.
Steensen Varming establishes a permanent office in Australia after having been awarded a number of local projects and having to leave their Opera House site shed.
1975
Steensen Varming begins work on all engineering services for the New British Library
, the largest building in England with anartificial environment - primarily for the protection of precious books and documents. This commission lasts over 17 years to completion.
1983
Steensen & Varming is selected as consulting engineers for design of all engineering services for La Grande Arche.
1987
The Clore Gallery for the Turner Collection at London's Tate Gallery
by James Stirling is opened, incorporating innovative daylighting systems and is designed by the UK office.
1991
Steensen Varming complete work on the Government Buildings, Dublin. This refurbishment of a period building was awarded the ACEA Award for Excellence and the RAIA Conservation Award.
1999
The Irish office complete the Chester Beatty Library project and the remarkable Chester Beatty Collections are moved to the new museum at Dublin Castle.
The museum was a refurbishment of an existing period building with a modern extension and was awarded the European Museum of the Year in 2002.
2003
Steensen varming Australia celebrate their 30th anniversary in Australia and 70th internationally combined with the international meeting of the Varming Alliance Partners.
2004
Steensen Varming reprint and distribute freely as a not for profit initiative - now used to assist in the teaching of University students - the seminal publication "Architecture of the Well Tempered Environment" By Reyner Banham
.
2005
The Dublin office wins the ACRI Design Excellence Award and Design Innovation Award in 2005, a feat never before achieved by any company The Australian office is awarded a 10 year contract for strategic advice for the Sydney Opera House.
2006
Steensen Varming scoop national IES award of excellence for lighting the mint.
The Edinburgh and London offices complete design of the Playfair Project
RSA & NGS on a world heritage site.
2007
The Australian office forms a unique consultancy team that will address the strategic requirements of the built environment and how it will address issues such as climate change and carbon/energy constraints.
2008
The Dublin office wins the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland Award of Excellence for Park Place
.
The Sydney office Steensen Varming becomes the first and only firm in Australia to win the prestigious IALD Award of Excellence for the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre.
2009
Varming re-establish a Copenhagen office.
The Australian Practice complete work on the National Portrait Gallery (Australia)
, which opened in 2009 winning many awards.
Varming global brand established to strengthen collaboration and offer clients greater access to international expertise.
The above information has been obtained from the Steensen Varming website. Permission was obtained prior to the information being replicated here, therefore this information does not infringe copyright,
as the mechanical consulting engineers for the new Opera House project in Sydney in 1957. The Australian branch of Steensen & Varming Australia (later to be known as Steensen Varming) was led by Vagn Prestmark a partner from the Danish Steensen & Varming firm.
Prestmark established Steensen Varming in Australia
in 1957 and the company was permanently established in Australia in 1973.
Steensen & Varming was not well known in Australia prior to the Sydney Opera House, it was however well established in Europe with offices in Dublin, Belfast
, London
, Edinburgh
and Copenhagen
and employed over 500 people by 1973.
When Utzon resigned from the Sydney Opera House
in 1966, Steensen & Varming continued as the mechanical consultants ultimately delivering the design, documentation, contract administration and detailed site supervision of all mechanical, hydraulic and fire protection services, including the controls/supervisory system.
Steensen Varming's most known contribution to the Sydney Opera House, was the design for the water heat pump system. The architects and engineers agreed that constructing a boiler chimney stack or a cooling tower, would not be in keeping with the design of the Opera House, which ruled out the two normal approaches for large-scale air conditioning. Steensen Varming provided the design solution in using a heat pump system, which used water from the harbour as the cooling agent: a truly elegant and efficient solution, even by today’s standards.
There were three main considerations which led to the design of the Opera House air conditioning as a heat pump system, the availability of the waters of Sydney harbour as a heat sources and sink, the aesthetics and the savings that could be achieved with a water-to-water heat pump. Three pumps draw water from Circular Quay, the water is filtered to remove debris and then passes through tubes and is discharged into the harbour at the opposite side of the Opera House. Fresh water circulates between the heat exchanger shells and the shells of the condesner and evaporators of three centrifugal chillers / heat pump sets.
The design innovation and technical expertise demonstrated in this unique landmark project subsequently led to the awarding of other projects in Australia to the Steensen Varming practice.
The engineering construction of the Sydney Opera House was featured in a National Geographic/BBC
production hosted Richard Hammond called Engineering Connections. The programme aired in Australia on 13 March 2010. Part of the documentary featured the seawater heat rejection system originally designed by Steensen Varming and assistance on this documentary was provided by Steensen Varming who acted as technical liaison to the production team.
and was completed in 2008.
The Mint, Historic Houses Trust Australia - The Sydney Mint
was recently named as one of 30 projects that have reshaped the built environment since 1978. "The refurbishment project is an example of the Integration of services systems (by Steensen Varming), to provide a modern, functional headquarters while minimising the impact on the heritage and archaeological fabric of a site."
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, in 1933. The firm specialised in civil, structural and building services engineering. During the 20th century, the practice grew out of Denmark and new offices were established in Australia (Steensen Varming Australia ‐ 1973), United Kingdom (Steensen Varming Mulcahy ‐ 1957) and Ireland (Varming Mulcahy Reilly Associates ‐ 1947).
Jorgen Varming was the son of a prominent Danish Architect, he studied Engineering at the University of Newcastle and had a philosophy of sympathetic mutual respect for both engineering and architecture. His understanding of building services and pursuit of comfort, light and colour struck an accord with many architects at that time, who were pursuing stimulating, visual, ergonomic spaces for human occupancy and led to Steensen & Varming working with a number of well established Architects.
History
1933Steensen & Varming is founded by Niels Steensen & Jogen Varming in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their first commission was the new University Library in Copenhagen followed by research laboratories for Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
.
1937
Steensen & Varming contribute to the Aarhus Town Hall competition project with architects Arne Jacobsen
Arne Jacobsen
Arne Emil Jacobsen, usually known as Arne Jacobsen, was a Danish architect and designer. He is remembered for contributing so much to architectural Functionalism as well as for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple but effective chair designs.-Early life and education:Arne Jacobsen was born...
and Eric Moller.
1940
Niels Steensen developed a system of construction using hollow tiles, making floors and roofs lighter and less expensive.
1946
Jorgen Varming together with the Irish engineer Sean Mulcahy, establish Varming Mulcahy Reilly Associates office in Ireland to work on the Irish transport Corporation's main office and bus terminal in Dublin by RIBA gold medal winner Michael Scott.
1957
Via the Irish office, Steensen Varming Mulcahy is established in London to work on projects such as Coventry Cathedral with Sir Basil Spence and St Catherine's College, Oxford, with Arne Jacobsen.
Steensen Varming is established in Australia by the Danish practice following success in winning the commission to design the Sydney Opera House with Jørn Utzon.
1959
Niels Steensen establishes an office in Edinburgh, coinciding with a rapid expansion in the Scottish building sector, undertaking many commissions with Sir Robert Matthews, Johnson-Marshall and Sir Basil Spence.
1967
The Edinburgh University Library is opened, the first fully air conditioned university library in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Steensen Varming Mulcahy worked in close consultation with Sir Basil Spence to achieve a design solution which integrated building services with the architecture a new concept for the time.
1969
Steensen Varming Mulcahy begins work on the Arndale shopping centre in Manchester, the first covered and air conditioned shopping centre in the United Kingdom.
1970
Steensen Varming The UK begins work on the Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse
The Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in the 1950s when it operated from a former cinema. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop.-The building:...
, the first new theatre to be built in England in 200 years.
1973
The Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
is opened including an innovative chilled ceiling system.
Steensen Varming establishes a permanent office in Australia after having been awarded a number of local projects and having to leave their Opera House site shed.
1975
Steensen Varming begins work on all engineering services for the New British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, the largest building in England with anartificial environment - primarily for the protection of precious books and documents. This commission lasts over 17 years to completion.
1983
Steensen & Varming is selected as consulting engineers for design of all engineering services for La Grande Arche.
1987
The Clore Gallery for the Turner Collection at London's Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
by James Stirling is opened, incorporating innovative daylighting systems and is designed by the UK office.
1991
Steensen Varming complete work on the Government Buildings, Dublin. This refurbishment of a period building was awarded the ACEA Award for Excellence and the RAIA Conservation Award.
1999
The Irish office complete the Chester Beatty Library project and the remarkable Chester Beatty Collections are moved to the new museum at Dublin Castle.
The museum was a refurbishment of an existing period building with a modern extension and was awarded the European Museum of the Year in 2002.
2003
Steensen varming Australia celebrate their 30th anniversary in Australia and 70th internationally combined with the international meeting of the Varming Alliance Partners.
2004
Steensen Varming reprint and distribute freely as a not for profit initiative - now used to assist in the teaching of University students - the seminal publication "Architecture of the Well Tempered Environment" By Reyner Banham
Reyner Banham
Peter Reyner Banham was a prolific architectural critic and writer best known for his 1960 theoretical treatise Theory and Design in the First Machine Age and for his 1971 book Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies...
.
2005
The Dublin office wins the ACRI Design Excellence Award and Design Innovation Award in 2005, a feat never before achieved by any company The Australian office is awarded a 10 year contract for strategic advice for the Sydney Opera House.
2006
Steensen Varming scoop national IES award of excellence for lighting the mint.
The Edinburgh and London offices complete design of the Playfair Project
Playfair Project
The Playfair Project created an underground link between the National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy Building. The project was named after William Henry Playfair, the original designer of both buildings...
RSA & NGS on a world heritage site.
2007
The Australian office forms a unique consultancy team that will address the strategic requirements of the built environment and how it will address issues such as climate change and carbon/energy constraints.
2008
The Dublin office wins the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland Award of Excellence for Park Place
Park Place
Park Place may refer to:Canada:* Park Place , a park in the city of Barrie* Park Place , a skyscraper* Park Place Mall, Lethbridge, AlbertaUnited Arab Emirates:...
.
The Sydney office Steensen Varming becomes the first and only firm in Australia to win the prestigious IALD Award of Excellence for the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre.
2009
Varming re-establish a Copenhagen office.
The Australian Practice complete work on the National Portrait Gallery (Australia)
National Portrait Gallery (Australia)
The National Portrait Gallery of Australia is a collection of portraits of prominent Australians that are important in their field of endeavour or whose life sets them apart as an individual of long-term public interest...
, which opened in 2009 winning many awards.
Varming global brand established to strengthen collaboration and offer clients greater access to international expertise.
The above information has been obtained from the Steensen Varming website. Permission was obtained prior to the information being replicated here, therefore this information does not infringe copyright,
Steensen Varming and The Sydney Opera House
Steensen and Varming were chosen by the Danish architect Jørn UtzonJørn Utzon
Jørn Oberg Utzon, , AC was a Danish architect, most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one of his works during his lifetime...
as the mechanical consulting engineers for the new Opera House project in Sydney in 1957. The Australian branch of Steensen & Varming Australia (later to be known as Steensen Varming) was led by Vagn Prestmark a partner from the Danish Steensen & Varming firm.
Prestmark established Steensen Varming in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1957 and the company was permanently established in Australia in 1973.
Steensen & Varming was not well known in Australia prior to the Sydney Opera House, it was however well established in Europe with offices in Dublin, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and employed over 500 people by 1973.
When Utzon resigned from the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
in 1966, Steensen & Varming continued as the mechanical consultants ultimately delivering the design, documentation, contract administration and detailed site supervision of all mechanical, hydraulic and fire protection services, including the controls/supervisory system.
Steensen Varming's most known contribution to the Sydney Opera House, was the design for the water heat pump system. The architects and engineers agreed that constructing a boiler chimney stack or a cooling tower, would not be in keeping with the design of the Opera House, which ruled out the two normal approaches for large-scale air conditioning. Steensen Varming provided the design solution in using a heat pump system, which used water from the harbour as the cooling agent: a truly elegant and efficient solution, even by today’s standards.
There were three main considerations which led to the design of the Opera House air conditioning as a heat pump system, the availability of the waters of Sydney harbour as a heat sources and sink, the aesthetics and the savings that could be achieved with a water-to-water heat pump. Three pumps draw water from Circular Quay, the water is filtered to remove debris and then passes through tubes and is discharged into the harbour at the opposite side of the Opera House. Fresh water circulates between the heat exchanger shells and the shells of the condesner and evaporators of three centrifugal chillers / heat pump sets.
The design innovation and technical expertise demonstrated in this unique landmark project subsequently led to the awarding of other projects in Australia to the Steensen Varming practice.
The engineering construction of the Sydney Opera House was featured in a National Geographic/BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production hosted Richard Hammond called Engineering Connections. The programme aired in Australia on 13 March 2010. Part of the documentary featured the seawater heat rejection system originally designed by Steensen Varming and assistance on this documentary was provided by Steensen Varming who acted as technical liaison to the production team.
Steensen Varming and Australian Projects
Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre - Steensen Varming was the first Australian organisation to win an Award of Excellence from the International Association of Lighting Designers for the lighting of the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, Sydney. The Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre was one of the last architectural designs by the architect Harry SeidlerHarry Seidler
Harry Seidler, AC OBE was an Austrian-born Australian architect who is considered to be one of the leading exponents of Modernism's methodology in Australia and the first architect to fully express the principles of the Bauhaus in Australia.Harry Seidler designed more than 180 buildings and he...
and was completed in 2008.
The Mint, Historic Houses Trust Australia - The Sydney Mint
Sydney Mint
The Sydney Mint in Sydney, Australia, is the oldest public building in the Sydney Central Business District. Built between 1811 and 1816 as the southern wing of the Sydney Hospital, it was then known as the Rum Hospital. In 1854 a mint was established on the site with the hospital building used...
was recently named as one of 30 projects that have reshaped the built environment since 1978. "The refurbishment project is an example of the Integration of services systems (by Steensen Varming), to provide a modern, functional headquarters while minimising the impact on the heritage and archaeological fabric of a site."