Oehme, van Sweden & Associates is a Washington, D.C. based

landscape architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

firm known for its focus on sustainability in landscape architecture. It was founded in 1975 by

Wolfgang Oehme Wolfgang Oehme (May 18, 1930 Chemnitz, Germany – December 15, 2011, Towson, Maryland) was a German-American landscape architect. Early life Oehme grew up in Wissmannhof in Chemnitz. After leaving school in 1947, he began an apprenticeship at th ...

and James van Sweden. The firm is a proponent of the "New American Garden" style, which is characterized by large swaths of grasses and fields of perennials. Notable works of OvS' include the landscape architectural design for the Federal Reserve Campus in Washington, DC; The National World War II Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial; Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, MT; and multiple commissions at both Chicago Botanic Garden and

The New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

, including the Native Plant Garden.

Design philosophy

OvS' designs embrace the ideals of low-input landscaping: plant diversity with limited inputs of

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...

s, fertilizer, water, and maintenance. The firm aims to integrate new projects and plantings into natural landscapes and ecosystems, and in these, create landscaping and gardens which react to the changes in seasons and weather.

Key persons

- Co-founded OvS with James van Sweden. Worked at OvS from its founding until retiring in 2008. James van Sweden - Co-founded OvS with Wolfgang Oehme. Worked at OvS until retiring due to illness in 2011. Lisa Delplace - Director and CEO Emeritus of OvS; has worked there since 1988. Eric Groft - Owner and director of OvS; has worked there since 1986. Sheila Brady - Principal partner of OvS; has worked there since 1987.

Awards and honors

The firm was named recipient of the American Society of Landscape Architects' 2014 Landscape Architecture Firm Award. The award recognizes a “distinguished body of work that influences the professional practice of landscape architecture.” The firm's project to improve the landscaping for a block of townhomes in the Ellen Wilson neighborhood of

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

in Washington, D.C., was recognized with an American Institute of Architects Honor Award in 1998. In the same year, the firm received a Residential Design Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects for their work on a residential Coastal Island Retreat on Pine Island, South Carolina.

Publications

* van Sweden, James and Christopher, Tom (2011). ''The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design''. Random House. * van Sweden, James and * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oehme, Van Sweden and Associates American landscape architects