Oehme, van Sweden & Associates

Oehme, van Sweden & Associates [1] (OvS) is a professional practice of landscape architecture established in 1977 and located in Washington, DC. The firm is known for its artistic design solutions that balance sustainable practices with concerns about life-cycle costs and maintenance.{cn}} Oehme, van Sweden's appreciation of nature and its processes inspired the firm's widely recognized "New American Garden" style. The approach is based on the year-round qualities of the natural environment^{[citation needed]} and is driven by a deep understanding of natural science.^{[citation needed]}

The firm's widely diversified mix of clients includes federal-government agencies such as the National Park Service, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. Department of State, Smithsonian Institution, Federal Reserve Board, American Battle Monuments Commission, and the National Arboretum as well as private institutions, universities, municipalities, private businesses and home owners.^{[citation needed]}

Over the past decade, OvS has expanded landscape architectural services to include security design for federal government buildings in Washington, DC, and around the world. This work includes designing mission critical facilities in high-security locations such as the new United States Embassies in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Kabul, Afghanistan. The firm’s security designs in Washington, DC, include perimeter security upgrades for the Federal Reserve System and perimeter security for the International Chanceries Center, a campus of twenty-two chanceries and Intelsat Headquarters located in an historic neighborhood. In every case, the designs are both contextual and functional, providing security within historic or culturally significant landscapes.^{[clarification needed]}

The professional staff consists of twelve landscape architects. The firm’s work has been chronicled in books, professional journals and popular periodicals. These include, Architecture in the Garden [2] (2002), Gardening with Nature [3](1997), and Gardening with Water [4] (1995). The Arts and the Garden, scheduled for publication in 2010, is next in the series.

References

• 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 978-0-823-02078-2. 
• van Sweden, James (1995). Gardening With Water. Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-42946-3. 
• "Oehme, van Sweden Hampton Gardens". Garden Design. 2010. http://www.gardendesign.com/photos/oehme-van-sweden-hamptons-garden.