With degrees in horticulture, forestry, landscape architecture and journalism, Fred Oehmichen experienced, as a professional, the reconstruction of his country devastated by the Second World War. Later, he chose to travel and became a landscape architecture journalist at a time when few professionals crossed continents. When he arrived in Quebec via Asia and the United States, his colleagues and students discovered his rich philosophy and expertise. Fred was a teacher who brought the knowledge of design with plants to his students, who was at the forefront of the development of natural parks in urban areas, and who introduced and initiated the use of grasses in Quebec. He has also conducted extensive research on the adaptation of plants on degraded and contaminated sites.
Recipient of numerous awards of excellence and honours, Fred Oehmichen was a landscape architect whose achievements and contributions to the profession over the years have had a unique and lasting impact on the well-being of the public and the environment.
Arcadia Studios completed a series of interviews with Canadian landscape architect pioneers. View the episode on Friedrich Oehmichen here.
