Gert Wingårdh
Encyclopedia
Gert Wingårdh is a Swedish
architect whose company, Wingårdh arkitektkontor
, maintains an international practice.
, Västergötland
county, as the only child. His father owned the local cement
factory and the family’s house was built on a limestone
mountain. Both cement and limestone are materials Wingårdh later has used in his work.
When Wingårdh was ten the family moved to Gothenburg
. After moving to Gothenburg he was bullied by other children for a while. As a teenager he took interest in art and cinema.
Wingårdh still lives in metropolitan Gothenburg, near Marstrand
in Kungälv Municipality
with his family.
and Chalmers University of Technology
, and has in interviews stated that it was a visit to the Pantheon, Rome
, that made him decide to become an architect. Before deciding to become an architect he had plans to be an art-gallery owner.
He received his degree in architecture from Chalmers in 1975.
Gert Wingårdh started as an interior decorator in the 1970s. After graduating he joined an architectural firm for a short while before setting up his own office in 1977. He had his big breakthrough as a regular architect with the Öijared Executive Country Club outside Gothenburg in 1988. The building rendered him a Kasper Salin Prize
.
He has had a number of assignments in the United States
and Germany
in recent years.
Wingårdh is also the creator of the Swedish embassies in Washington
and Berlin
. Most of his realized buildings, however, can be found in Sweden and in particular in the area of metropolitan Gothenburg. In 2007 Wingårdh won a major international competition for a large new shopping centre in Malmö
, and in the same year seven of the twelve hottest architecture projects in the capital Stockholm – listed by a Swedish national daily – was designed by Wingårdh.
Several spectacular projects have created considerable attention but remained unexecuted, such as a conference centre in Östersund
, Jämtland
, on the top of a mountain, called Breath of Life. Features developed in these experimental projects do occationally return in built projects later, such as the curved glass facade that is realized in the shopping mall Emporia in Malmö
2011.
Because of his skills, his way of constantly attract the media attention and the many prizes he has received, he is generally considered the most renowned living Swedish architect. His role as a public figure is not without controversy, though. He has for example been known to be an advocate of skyscrapers which has made him a subject of critique from some (Swedish) colleagues.
He became PhD (HC
) at Chalmers University of Technology
in 1999 and reveived the Prince Eugene Medal in 2005. In 2007 Gert Wingårdh was appointed adjunct professor in building design at the architecture faculty at Chalmers.
The Wingårdh office has circa 150 employees (2010).
Gert Wingårdh started as a Postmodernist
in the 1980s, as one of the architects who broke away from the strong Functionalist
(International style
) norm that held sway over Scandinavia
longer than in other countries.
He is known to pick up new trends in architecture quickly and interpret them with a personal expressive language which integrates the surrounding landscapes into the projects: "His buildings do not stubbornly adhere to one style but are a response to the task in hand and the surrounding environmental conditions. Swedens [sic] rich tradition of building with wood and a strong ecological awareness are combined with high tech expertise".
Wingårdh has himself described his architecture as ”high organic”, combining high tech with organic architecture. He has also been described as a ”maximalist” rather than a ”minimalist”, his buildings being ”a kind of modern baroque”. He has shown influences from and kinship with such different architects as Frank Lloyd Wright
, Hans Scharoun
, Carlo Scarpa
, Frank Gehry
and Peter Zumthor
. Another paradoxical description states that his buildings are both ”playful” and ”strict”.
A feature of Wingårdh's is to surprise the visitors of the buildings—keeping the entrance of a building low and then ”heighten the sense of space and drama when entering the main rooms”. He also has a good knowledge of details as well as an understanding of intricate building structures which requires good knowledge of sociological processes and human behaviour.
His building for the Öijared Executive Country Club, Lerum
, was awarded the Kasper Salin Prize
in 1988, and the Astra Zeneca R&D Site, Mölndal
, was awarded the same prize in 1993. He received the ECSN European Award for Excellence in Concrete in 2002 for the Arlanda
air traffic control tower. Other buildings include the Universeum
Science Centre, Gothenburg (2001), and the auditorium and Student Union at Chalmers University of Technology
, Gothenburg (2001), the latter also received the Kaspar Salin Prize. And in 2006 the Aranäs Senior High School in Kungsbacka
was awarded the same prestigious prize.
In 2006 Wingårdh also was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe
Award for Mimer's house in Kungälv
. House of Sweden
was awarded the American Architecture Awards by the Chicago Athenaeum 2007.
The Washington embassy also received the Kasper Salin Prize 2007, making it Wingårdh's fifth Kasper Salin Prize—which place him in a league of his own among Swedish architects.
At the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona Wingårdh was declared the ”clear winner” in the shopping category for the K:fem building in Vällingby, Stockholm.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
architect whose company, Wingårdh arkitektkontor
Wingårdh arkitektkontor
Wingårdh arkitektkontor is an architectural firm based in the Sweden. The practice is led by its founder, Gert Wingårdh. It has circa 150 employees .- References :*Gert Wingårdh, architect. Rasmus Waern. Birkhäuser, 2001....
, maintains an international practice.
Personal life
Gert Wingårdh was born 1951 into a wealthy family in SkövdeSkövde
Skövde is a locality and the seat of Skövde Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 34 446 inhabitants .Skövde is situated some 150 km northeast of Gothenburg, between Sweden's two largest lakes, Vänern and Vättern. It sits on the eastern slope of a low mountain ridge Billingen ,...
, Västergötland
Västergötland
', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....
county, as the only child. His father owned the local cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
factory and the family’s house was built on a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
mountain. Both cement and limestone are materials Wingårdh later has used in his work.
When Wingårdh was ten the family moved to Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
. After moving to Gothenburg he was bullied by other children for a while. As a teenager he took interest in art and cinema.
Wingårdh still lives in metropolitan Gothenburg, near Marstrand
Marstrand
Marstrand is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,432 inhabitants in 2005. It has held city privileges since 1200. The most striking feature about Marstrand is the 17th century fortress Carlsten, named after King Carl X Gustav of Sweden. The...
in Kungälv Municipality
Kungälv Municipality
Kungälv Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Kungälv....
with his family.
Education
Wingårdh studied economics, art history and architecture in the 1970s at Gothenburg UniversityGothenburg University
The University of Gothenburg is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg.- Character :The University of Gothenburg is the third-oldest Swedish university, and with 24,900 full-time students it is also among the largest universities in the Nordic countries...
and Chalmers University of Technology
Chalmers University of Technology
Chalmers University of Technology , is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science and architecture.-History:...
, and has in interviews stated that it was a visit to the Pantheon, Rome
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
, that made him decide to become an architect. Before deciding to become an architect he had plans to be an art-gallery owner.
He received his degree in architecture from Chalmers in 1975.
Career
Kasper Salin Prize
The Kasper Salin Prize is a prize awarded annually by the Swedish Association of Architects to a Swedish building or building project "of high architectural standard". It has been awarded since 1962 and was founded with money from a donation by the city architect of Stockholm Kasper Salin...
.
He has had a number of assignments in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in recent years.
Wingårdh is also the creator of the Swedish embassies in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Most of his realized buildings, however, can be found in Sweden and in particular in the area of metropolitan Gothenburg. In 2007 Wingårdh won a major international competition for a large new shopping centre in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, and in the same year seven of the twelve hottest architecture projects in the capital Stockholm – listed by a Swedish national daily – was designed by Wingårdh.
Several spectacular projects have created considerable attention but remained unexecuted, such as a conference centre in Östersund
Östersund
Östersund is an urban area in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth largest lake, Storsjön, opposite the island Frösön, and is the only city in Jämtland. Östersund is the...
, Jämtland
Jämtland
Jämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
, on the top of a mountain, called Breath of Life. Features developed in these experimental projects do occationally return in built projects later, such as the curved glass facade that is realized in the shopping mall Emporia in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
2011.
Because of his skills, his way of constantly attract the media attention and the many prizes he has received, he is generally considered the most renowned living Swedish architect. His role as a public figure is not without controversy, though. He has for example been known to be an advocate of skyscrapers which has made him a subject of critique from some (Swedish) colleagues.
He became PhD (HC
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
) at Chalmers University of Technology
Chalmers University of Technology
Chalmers University of Technology , is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science and architecture.-History:...
in 1999 and reveived the Prince Eugene Medal in 2005. In 2007 Gert Wingårdh was appointed adjunct professor in building design at the architecture faculty at Chalmers.
The Wingårdh office has circa 150 employees (2010).
Architectural style
Postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
in the 1980s, as one of the architects who broke away from the strong Functionalist
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
(International style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
) norm that held sway over Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
longer than in other countries.
He is known to pick up new trends in architecture quickly and interpret them with a personal expressive language which integrates the surrounding landscapes into the projects: "His buildings do not stubbornly adhere to one style but are a response to the task in hand and the surrounding environmental conditions. Swedens [sic] rich tradition of building with wood and a strong ecological awareness are combined with high tech expertise".
Wingårdh has himself described his architecture as ”high organic”, combining high tech with organic architecture. He has also been described as a ”maximalist” rather than a ”minimalist”, his buildings being ”a kind of modern baroque”. He has shown influences from and kinship with such different architects as Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, Hans Scharoun
Hans Scharoun
Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun was a German architect best known for designing the Berlin Philharmonic concert hall and the in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important exponent of Organic architecture....
, Carlo Scarpa
Carlo Scarpa
Carlo Scarpa , was an Italian architect, influenced by the materials, landscape, and the history of Venetian culture, and Japan. Scarpa was also a glass and furniture designer of note....
, Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
and Peter Zumthor
Peter Zumthor
Peter Zumthor is a Swiss architect and winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize.-Early life:Zumthor was born in Basel, the son of a cabinet-maker...
. Another paradoxical description states that his buildings are both ”playful” and ”strict”.
A feature of Wingårdh's is to surprise the visitors of the buildings—keeping the entrance of a building low and then ”heighten the sense of space and drama when entering the main rooms”. He also has a good knowledge of details as well as an understanding of intricate building structures which requires good knowledge of sociological processes and human behaviour.
Awards
Lerum
Lerum is a locality and the seat of Lerum Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 15,819 inhabitants in 2005.-Overview:Lerum has a station on the Gothenburg commuter rail system and is a suburb of Gothenburg....
, was awarded the Kasper Salin Prize
Kasper Salin Prize
The Kasper Salin Prize is a prize awarded annually by the Swedish Association of Architects to a Swedish building or building project "of high architectural standard". It has been awarded since 1962 and was founded with money from a donation by the city architect of Stockholm Kasper Salin...
in 1988, and the Astra Zeneca R&D Site, Mölndal
Mölndal
Mölndal is a part of the Gothenburg urban area on the west-coast of Sweden, and constitutes the administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live here.-Geography:...
, was awarded the same prize in 1993. He received the ECSN European Award for Excellence in Concrete in 2002 for the Arlanda
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport
Stockholm Arlanda Airport , is an international airport located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, north of Stockholm and nearly , by road, south-east of Uppsala....
air traffic control tower. Other buildings include the Universeum
Universeum
Universeum is a public science centre in Gothenburg, Sweden that opened in 2001. It is a part of Evenemangsstråket, the thoroughfare of events – close to Korsvägen and Skånegatan – which includes sights of interest like Scandinavium, Ullevi, Svenska Mässan , Liseberg and the Museum of World...
Science Centre, Gothenburg (2001), and the auditorium and Student Union at Chalmers University of Technology
Chalmers University of Technology
Chalmers University of Technology , is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science and architecture.-History:...
, Gothenburg (2001), the latter also received the Kaspar Salin Prize. And in 2006 the Aranäs Senior High School in Kungsbacka
Kungsbacka
Kungsbacka is a locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 17,784 inhabitants in 2005.It is one of the most affluent parts of Sweden, in part due to its simultaneous proximity to stunning countryside and the large city of Gothenburg..-History:The first records...
was awarded the same prestigious prize.
In 2006 Wingårdh also was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe
European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture
The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture or Mies van der Rohe award is a prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, 'to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe'...
Award for Mimer's house in Kungälv
Kungälv
Kungälv is a city and the seat of Kungälv Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 21,139 inhabitants in 2005.-History:According to Swedish official sources the city was founded in 1612, when the former settlement at Kungahälla was moved to the Bohus Fortress...
. House of Sweden
House of Sweden
House of Sweden is a building in Washington, D.C. which houses the diplomatic missions of the Kingdom of Sweden, the Principality of Liechtenstein, and the Republic of Iceland to the United States of America. The building is located at 2900 K Street N.W...
was awarded the American Architecture Awards by the Chicago Athenaeum 2007.
The Washington embassy also received the Kasper Salin Prize 2007, making it Wingårdh's fifth Kasper Salin Prize—which place him in a league of his own among Swedish architects.
At the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona Wingårdh was declared the ”clear winner” in the shopping category for the K:fem building in Vällingby, Stockholm.
Influences on architecture
Gert Wingårdh's awarded projects and his contributions to the public debate on architecture have contributed to a changed image of architecture and architects in Sweden. A will to create new solutions for every new task have enhanced the variation in the production but reduced his impact as a stylistic beacon. An ambition to "give the client what they did not know that they wanted" reveals a will to provoce as well as to adapt.Selected books about Gert Wingårdh
- Gert Wingårdh, architect, by Rasmus Waern (Birkhäuser Publishers for Architecture, 2001)
- Nordic by Nature, by Stefan Ostrowski (Natur & Kultur, 2001)
- Gert Wingårdh; Thirty Years of Architecture, Mikael Nanfeldt (ed.) (Birkhäuser Publishers for Architecture, 2008)
- Crucial Words. Conditions for Contemporary Architecture, Gert Wingårdh and Rasmus Waern (ed.) (Birkhäuser Publishers for Architecture, 2008)
- Falk Jaeger: "Wingårdhs", JOVIS Verlag Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86859-035-7