News

Global consulting engineering firm Steensen Varming has appointed Gráinne McCormack as its new Chief Executive Officer – a pivotal move that marks her return to the company as it enters its 100th anniversary decade.

Effective 1 March 2025, Gráinne will lead Steensen Varming into its next phase of growth and innovation, building on its 91-year legacy of delivering integrated solutions that are intelligent, valuable, and elegant to purposeful projects, from small retrofits to iconic, ambitious developments.

Having previously spent 10 years with the firm, which specialises in mechanical and electrical engineering, lighting, and sustainable design, Gráinne was instrumental in shaping its unique ‘one studio’ approach, uniting the expertise across its global offices to provide clients with the most advanced engineering solutions, regardless of location.

“I am honoured to return to Steensen Varming as CEO – a firm whose values and legacy have shaped both my professional and personal journey,” says Gráinne. “In these challenging times of growing ESG scrutiny and financial pressures, our people will lead the way. Together, we’ll deliver the innovative, sustainable, and purpose-driven solutions our clients need to achieve their social, net-zero, and decarbonisation goals, navigating this evolving landscape with integrity and excellence.”

Steensen Varming’s leadership transition is the culmination of years of strategic succession planning led by outgoing CEO Dan Mackenzie and Executive Director Chris Arkins, designed to uphold its founding principles while addressing the future needs of its clients and the wider industry. Dan will continue with Steensen Varming as Chair of the Board, supporting Gráinne in continuing the firm’s success and award-winning design solutions.

“Succession is a responsibility we take seriously,” says Dan. “Gráinne’s appointment reflects years of deliberate planning to ensure our future leadership embodies the DNA of Steensen Varming – our design excellence, creativity, and collaborative client focus. Gráinne will now be part of that dynasty and has the vision, experience, and expertise to lead us into an exciting era of opportunities as we move towards our 100th year and beyond.”

Renowned worldwide for understanding fundamental project needs to deliver meaningful impact, Steensen Varming is behind some of the world’s most visionary engineering solutions.

As well as iconic legacy projects such as the Sydney Opera House, current projects include the redevelopment of Scott Base in Antarctica – a critical scientific research hub in one of the world’s most extreme environments; the Wilya Janta housing project in Australia’s Northern Territory to create a scalable, culturally sensitive, and sustainable home design for Indigenous communities; and the ongoing decarbonisation of the British Museum – an ambitious project to reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability across the museum’s operations.

Chris Arkins, Executive Director at Steensen Varming, says: “Gráinne’s appointment represents an exciting new chapter for Steensen Varming. Her integrity and creativity ensure we will continue to create positive environments through projects that challenge convention and deliver real-world impact, from large-scale landmark works to smaller, community-focused initiatives. I am excited to welcome her back.”

 

Steensen Varming thanks you for being a part of our story.

As our 90^th anniversary year comes to a close, we reflect on the passing year and those that preceded it, shaping who we are today. We measure our accomplishments in quality rather than quantity, and are grateful to our brilliant team at Steensen Varming for not only upholding but surpassing the high standards we set for ourselves. We also extend thanks to our clients, collaborators and friends who have supported us over the years and greatly contributed to reaching this 90-year milestone.

As a global company, we hosted celebrations throughout the year in different locations, each celebration tailored to embrace the specific charms, history and connection of each location to our company. The first, held in Copenhagen, where our story began 90 years ago, was the most intimate, where the highlight was the many stories shared among some of the company’s oldest employees. Sydney’s celebration followed, a black tie event at the Sydney Opera House, the very project that brought us overseas to Australia. Closing our celebrations was the London event, held in the heart of Soho in a jazz club speakeasy, paying homage to our founder’s lifelong passion of music and early dreams of joining a jazz band.

To commemorate our 90^th anniversary year, we’ve created a historical timeline, highlighting important projects and milestones over the years, showcasing parts of our journey from our inception to the present day. Despite occasional hardships, we take pride in the innovative spirit that surrounds us and our commitment to responsible action, always choosing what is right over what is easy.

“Looking Forward” are words that represent our 90^th-anniversary year, connecting us to both our past and our future – a philosophy that has been maintained throughout our history. Now, we extend those words towards the future, looking forward to new challenges, opportunities and aspirations. As we close the chapter on our 90^th year, we again express gratitude to all who have been part of our journey, and we look forward to continuing our story with you.

We end this year with a few words from our CEO, Dan Mackenzie, while wishing you all Happy Holidays and a good New year.

“It has indeed been a privilege to be part of Steensen Varming during the year of our 90^th Anniversary. An anniversary notable not only for the longevity but also the consistency in remaining independent, maintaining our purpose and values of creating positive environments, focusing on quality, sustainability, and wider social benefit. All this whilst making sure we have a rewarding and fun approach to life. Every project is valued, but it’s the stories and relationships we’ve built along the way that are truly cherished. We enjoyed and shared stories at parties held in Copenhagen, London, and Sydney, all with different themes that honour elements of our history, that were shared by so many colleagues, clients, and collaborators past present and emerging. As we always have done, we are ‘Looking Forward’ to continuing to contribute, co-operate, support, delight, instigate change for the better and remain true to ourselves.”

 

Last week we attended the IES NSW Lighting Design Awards night. It was good to re-connect and meet in person after a 2-year break, and also to come home with two awards for our projects.

We would like to congratulate all award winners as well as the event organizers, and thank our clients and collaborators. We are humbled by the trust that has been and continues to be put in us and are looking forward to continuing to contribute to positive environments and outcomes.

 

Woodriff Lane – IES NSW Award of Commendation

The project is a catalyst and part of a larger Council strategy to bring people back into the city centre in the evening, enhance walkability, activation of the nighttime economy and support pedestrian connections. The solution achieves the project objectives through a simple yet imaginative design, creating a memorable, inviting space for the community and bringing joy to the nighttime experience.

Made from coloured sail cloth with a triangulated motif, the shades speak to the namesake of the installation; Daniel Woodriff, a British Royal Navy officer and navigator in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century who was granted 1,000 acres in Penrith. A subtle nod to the history of the site adds integrity to the placemaking strategy.

The lamp shade is locally designed and fabricated, minimising transport and supporting sustainability initiatives. Furthermore, the creative and simple solution developed utilises the existing infrastructure, minimising cost as well as making use of resources still within their design life.

Collaborator: KI STUDIO
Client: Penrith City Council

The Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand: https://www.iesanz.org/

 

 

 

 

Dangrove – IES NSW Award of Excellence

The lighting solution for Dangrove looks beyond the typical architectural and museum luminaire range, adapting a stage lighting design approach to light the display walls from the stepped mesh ceiling with theatrical DMX controlled RGBAL performance luminaires. Track and track lighting are mounted in a channel running across the gallery at each level of the ceiling arrangement to facilitate spotlighting of individual artworks below.

The innovative strategy of adapting stage performance lighting to act as display wallwashing in a museum environment has the additional advantage of also being used to support special events, performances and festivals, and by artists and performers in the creation of site-specific artworks with a full range of colour changing dynamic dimming capabilities.

Architect: Tzannes
Photographer: Ben Guthrie, The Guthrie Project

The Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand: https://www.iesanz.org/