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For the anniversary of the company we created a redesign that builds on our Danish Modern heritage. The photographic simplicity and detailed typeface combine with the grid and colour system to create a sharp, simple and contemporary corporate identity. The colour system manifests in a circle, a representation of Reyner Banham’s seminal work ‘Architecture of the Well Tempered Environment’ that Steensen Varming reprinted as part of an ongoing commitment to the education and collaboration of engineers and architects. Each colour represents our key disciplines: mechanical engineering, lighting design, sustainable design, electrical engineering and a combination of these, building services. It also draws on the use of colour in built systems, and the now ancient practice of colouring the edge bind of paper drawing sets.

The Steensen Varming custom fonts are an integral part of the rebrand – from the letters that appear in the logotype, to the text you are reading on this website – that ensure a distinct typographic identity and consistent company image. Design details such as the ‘chiselled corners’ and the ‘sharp bends’ of the letterforms reference the detailed world of Steensen Varming and establish a unique look without compromising legibility, even in small point sizes.

The identity was created by Søren Varming of Punktum Design, grandson of our founder Jørgen Varming, in association with Henrik Kubel of A2-TYPE for the Varming typeface.

Steensen Varming was founded by Niels Steensen and Jørgen Varming in
Copenhagen in 1933. Not long after the war ended, the Dublin office
opened followed by Edinburgh and London – all preceded by prestigious
commissions with competition-winning architects. The Sydney Opera
House commission with Jørgen Utzon continued this pattern and the
Sydney practice opened in 1973, and this year shares its 40th anniversary
with the Sydney Opera House.

In commemoration, Steensen Varming in association with the Sydney
Opera House, are supporting MADE, a multidisciplinary Australian-Danish
student exchange program that aims to promote disciplinary interaction
between engineering, architecture and design students. Later in the year
we will also be part of an exhibition of Danish Design Environments, to be
held at the Opera House.

To mark the occasion, on Thursday the 5th September, Steensen Varming will celebrate at the Concert Hall Northern Foyers. Our valued clients, inspirational architects and dedicated staff will be addressed by Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron, followed by Søren Varming and Tobias Jacobsen, grandsons of Jørgen Varming and Arne Jacobsen – key figures in the development of our way of thinking.

See photos of the event.

This book is not all about us. It is about inspirational architects and brave clients. Our reputation, as one of the most respected and awarded building services consultancies, is built on their foundations – and our way of thinking.