Ornament is essential to architecture. The linear categories brought to architecture through the enlightenment have since undermined ornament’s spectrum of abstract and visceral qualities. Through a non-western reading of water and ornament, the representations of the Alhambra’s past reclaim their essential roles in forming the culture of Granada and the role of ornament in architecture.

For students and academics in architecture, design and media studies, architectural and art history, and related fields, this book explores how the stories of sites like the Alhambra can enable the renewal of ornament through historic and contemporary tools in architectural representation.