Jeanne Gang is one of the fanciest architects in the USA. Her studio builds spectacular museums such as the Richard Gilder Center in New York and record-breaking skyscrapers such as the St. Regis Chicago. In her book ‘The Art of Architectural Grafting’, published by Park Books (Zurich 2024), she applies the technique of grafting plants to architecture and urban planning. Building on, reusing and repurposing are her themes, all techniques that make existing buildings fit for the future and, unlike new buildings, manage to utilise existing resources. In grafting, two separate living plants - one old and one new - are joined together so that they can grow and flourish together. The ancient process is still used today in the search for more fertile, flavourful and resistant varieties.
Jeanne Gang sees this practice as a useful example of how architecture can tackle climate change on a broad scale by reusing older structures and adding new ones. Due US architect considers both the environmental and cultural value of reuse and shows how the concept of refinement can influence architecture and building at different scales, stimulating the imagination and generating tectonic, programmatic, formal and regenerative adaptations
Jeanne Gang, The Art of Architectural Grafting. Containing Rules for Extending Museums and Anonymous Bildings to Increase their Usfulness and Delightfulness and Reduce the Carbon Polution, Park Books, 184 oages, 80 colour and 38 b/w illustrations, 16,5 x 24 cm, Park Books, Zurich 2024, ISBN 978-3-03860-343-6
