Oehme, van Sweden & Associates
American landscape architecture firm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oehme, van Sweden & Associates is a Washington, D.C.–based landscape architecture firm known for its focus on sustainability in landscape architecture. It was founded in 1975 by Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden.[1] The firm is a proponent of the "New American Garden" style, which is characterized by large swaths of grasses and fields of perennials.[2]
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 Centre in Fishtail, Montana; and multiple commissions at both Chicago Botanic Garden and The New York Botanical Garden,[3] including the Native Plant Garden.
Design philosophy
OvS' designs embrace the ideals of low-input landscaping: plant diversity with limited inputs of pesticides, fertilizer, water, and maintenance.[4] 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.[5][6]
Key persons
Wolfgang Oehme – Co-founded OvS with James van Sweden. Worked at OvS from its founding until retiring in 2008.[7]
James van Sweden – Co-founded OvS with Wolfgang Oehme. Worked at OvS until retiring due to illness in 2011.[6][8]
Lisa Delplace – Director and CEO Emeritus of OvS; has worked there since 1988.[9]
Eric Groft – Owner and director of OvS; has worked there since 1986.[10]
Sheila Brady – Principal partner of OvS; has worked there since 1987.[11]
Awards and honours
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 town homes in the Ellen Wilson neighbourhood of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., was recognized with an American Institute of Architects Honor Award in 1998.[3] 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.[12]
Publications
- van Sweden, James and Christopher, Tom (2011). The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6389-5
- van Sweden, James and Christopher, Tom (2002). Architecture in the Garden. Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-50154-8.
- van Sweden, James (1997). Gardening With Nature. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8230-2078-2.
- van Sweden, James (1995). Gardening With Water. Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-42946-3.