Dom Hans van der Laan: In Practice — A Design Manual decodes the proportional system of one of the twentieth century's most rigorous architectural thinkers, making Van der Laan's plastic number series and spatial philosophy legible as active design tools.
About This Book
Dom Hans van der Laan (1904–1991) — Dutch Benedictine monk and architect — developed a system of architectural proportion rooted in what he called the plastic number: a mathematical series with direct implications for how we perceive and inhabit space. Caroline Voet's manual does not simply document his legacy; it reconstructs his philosophy step by step through careful analysis, tracing the principles of his elementary architecture from their theoretical origins to their expression in built work. Spanning monasteries to residential houses, the book examines how the Bossche School extended Van der Laan's ideas, and it frames his proportional thinking as a living instrument for contemporary spatial design — one with genuine bearing on the complex, human-scale problems architects face today.
Key Features
- 176 pages of step-by-step analytical redraws, proportional diagrams, and case study documentation
- Author: Caroline Voet
- Case studies spanning monasteries and residential houses developed through the Bossche School
- Published by nai010, 1991
What You'll Discover
- The plastic number series — Van der Laan's unique proportional discovery — explained as a measurable, applicable spatial system
- How elementary architecture moves from abstract principle to built form, traced through completed projects
- The relationship between human scale and architectural proportion as Van der Laan theorised and practised it
- How the Bossche School carried Van der Laan's methods forward, extending their relevance beyond his own work
About the Author
Caroline Voet is the author of this handbook on Van der Laan's architectural principles and proportional system. Her analysis links his philosophy of spatial experience to the concrete measurement framework of the plastic number through a series of closely constructed, sequential studies.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 176
- Dimensions: 22 x 28.1 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9789462089464
- Publisher: nai010
- Publication Date: 1991
Perfect For: Architects and students working with proportion and spatial theory, scholars of twentieth-century European architecture, and practitioners interested in the Bossche School and Van der Laan's continuing influence on humanist design.