We are COWI

In just a few days, I am off to an adventure of a lifetime when I hop on the plane bound for New Delhi. For at least six months, not only am I to navigate through the street traffic, which I have heard is somewhat insane. I will also need to find my way around an unfamiliar COWI office. Hopefully, I will get through both challenges in one piece! One thing is for sure, though – my concerns won't stop me from moving around, neither to cross the road for that tasty street food, nor to drop by my colleagues' desks to build that important link between COWI's bridge engineers in Norway and our specialists in India. Kenth Daniel Solheim, Structural Engineer within bridges and structures, COWI's office in Oslo, Norway / New Delhi, India

"Engineers are behind almost everything in our daily lives. Without engineers we would be ind the middle ages." The quote is Anne Kristine's, technical expert on energy, who works at COWI in Norway. Learn more about Anne Kristine's job and her own daily life at the office in Oslo in this little image mosaic.

Sustainable urban development with 3D, laser and VR

"Population growth, urbanisation and climate change are forcing us to work and think differently, when we develop and design our cities. If the cities that we plan fail, the consequences will be fatal for the society we live in. That is where the new technology will help us". COWI's BIM strategist Marius Sekse recently gave a talk at Hong Kong’s prestigious BIM conference, HKIBIM, and shares his thoughts on how to utilize advanced technologies to develop smarter and more sustainable cities.

Did you know that...?

Did you know that the very first offshore wind farm in Taiwan is now in progress? The farm is scheduled for completion in 2019 and will have a capacity of 130 MW. It will be located three to six kilometres off the west coast of Taiwan, covering an area of 11 km². Its location in an earthquake and typhoon hazard zone places particular demands on the durability of the foundations. The turbine is located at a height of 100 meters, and its weight is equivalent to the weight of more than 100 elephants. Thus, when exposed to the extreme wind speed of a typhoon - up to 250 km/h - it will lead to severe stresses on the foundations. In addition to this comes the risk of strong earthquakes. COWI has been tasked with undertaking the detailed design of the Taiwanese wind turbine foundations in a generally rapidly expanding OWF business area.

We are COWI

Every day, it feels as if I travel the world, even though I am not moving away from my desk in Chennai. One day I am in a bio gas plant in the Netherlands, the next in residential apartments in Denmark. As a BIM coordinator working mostly with projects on the distance, cross-cultural challenges are part of my job. But so is the excitement of frequently meeting different cultures and getting to know new places around the globe – just without the hustle and bustle of jet lag and long sleepless hours on an airplane. Guruprakash M, BIM Coordinator in COWI's office in Chennai, India

Timeline Photos

Did you know that these months, 41 four-legged jackets for the Wikinger Offshore Wind farm are being transported through Øresund to their destination in the Baltic Sea, 34 km north of the island Rügen? The jackets are produced by Bladt Industries at the Lindø Industripark and measure no less than 65 meters with a 23 x 23 meter footprint. The jackets will be installed in water depths of up to 42 meters. When put into operation, the wind farm will consist of 70 wind turbines that will generate clean energy for over 350,000 households in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. COWI is heading the detailed design of the jackets in joint venture with Ramboll IMS. Customer: Iberdrola Renovables.

Masters of suspense - celebrating 50 years of the Severn Bridge

This month celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Severn Bridge, spanning the rivers Severn and Wye between England and Wales. The Bridge was the first steel box girder suspension bridge in the world, and revolutionised the bridge engineering industry. Not only did this key piece of UK infrastructure begin a new era for suspension bridge design, but it opened a new economic era for south Wales, and created a vital connection that replaced an unsafe and over capacity ferry service. Flint & Neill | COWI has been involved in many aspects of the bridge since the very early days. Join us in celebration and enjoy this video that takes us back to where it all began.

Cowi og Dissing+Weitling bag ny, 125 meter lang bro over Folehaven - København - ByensEjendom

COWI skal projektere en ny cykel- og gangbro hen over Folehaven for Københavns Kommune. Broen er tegnet af Dissing+Weitling Architecture, som sammen med COWI og Cobe Architects også har udviklet den kommende 225 meter lange gangbro ved Køge Nord Station. (Foto: Dissing+Weitling)

COWI ONCE AGAIN JOINS WITH BRIDGES TO PROSPERITY

During the summer, COWI North America teamed with contractor Traylor Bros. and non-profit organization Bridges to Prosperity to build a much needed 66-metre pedestrian bridge for the community of Chiguiri Arriba in rural Panama.

We are COWI

"I remember how much effort it took to master some exercises in artistic gymnastics when I was younger. While you are toiling and see little improvement, you are tempted to give up, but if you keep trying and finally succeed, the gratification is huge. The same is true for work. Some years ago, when I started using a new software for dynamic energy simulations, I really struggled. But in the end, I was able to model complicated dynamic simulations in swimming pools with HVAC plants with several heat recovery steps. It's as if you have to perform splits and walkovers, but you haven't yet learned how to make a simple somersault. Never lose sight of your goal by fixating on your current level; otherwise, you'll simply give up." - Sonia Martini, HVAC Project Engineer, COWI in Norway

Timeline Photos

Sometimes, 'easier said than done' also applies to engineering. During the Summer, I traveled with Engineers Without Borders to Tanzania to work on a water and sanitation project. It was the first time I was on site and actually implemented something I had been involved in designing myself. In this case, after visiting three different towns without finding the needed building material, we had to rethink our idea all over. I have gained a deeper appreciation of the difficulties involved in implementing a project with limited resources. - Jessica Lovell, Environment and Water engineer, COWI in Sweden

COWI delivers solid result for the first half of 2016

Half-year result: With improved operations and a robust order book, COWI expects to meet its financial targets for the year.