During the reconstruction period (1940-1965), many buildings were equipped with works of art. Murals, mosaics, stained glass and (wall) tapestries were specially designed for a particular spot on, in or on a building. After years of neglect and demolition, public interest in the reconstruction period and its extraordinary heritage is now growing. This publication tells the story of the rise, flowering and demise of reconstruction art in the Netherlands. Artists such as Dick Elffers, Wally Elenbaas, Louis van Roode and Karel Appel sought a synthesis of art and architecture in the austere postwar years. This ideal was related to the desire for a collective and unifying art for a society that had to recover from the effects of war. Special techniques such as sgraffito and glass-in- concrete were rediscovered or newly developed. This book contains portraits of artists, works of art, interviews, techniques and historical and recent visual material.