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 received 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 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. Sweden’s rich tradition of building with wood and a strong ecological awareness is combined with high tech expertise". Wingårdh has himself described his architecture as ”high organic”, combining high tech with organic architecture. He also has 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. Awards 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