Alternately celebrated and condemned, both linked to history and future-oriented, ornament is a significant and often underestimated item of the architectural vocabulary. This book presents the unfolding of the ornament debate since the nineteenth century, from a historico-cultural point of view, and uses it as the basis for a comprehensive presentation and analysis of contemporary ornament theory and practice. A range of examples shows not only the wide spectrum of ornamental forms—from regional traditions and examples from the fine arts, via the wealth of forms in nature, to the moving lighting ornamentation of modern digital façades—but also their communicative aspect and aesthetic appeal. Therefore this contribution to the ornament debate in the twenty-first century is a pioneering combination of the history of architecture, art and culture.