A House for the Spirit: The Wisdom of Hans van der Laan’s Monastic Architecture for the Contemporary City
This paper highlights the architectural theory and practice of the twentieth-century Dutch Benedictine monk and architect Dom Hans van der Laan as a lens through which to view architecture and urbanism’s underlying spiritual purpose. Van der Laan’s theologically grounded vision of architecture as a...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2023
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| In: |
Religion and the arts
Year: 2023, Volume: 27, Issue: 4, Pages: 498-517 |
| Further subjects: | B
Monastery
B Christian Theology B Monasticism B Architecture B Hans van der Laan B Roosenberg Abbey B urban design B Christian Spirituality B Urbanism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper highlights the architectural theory and practice of the twentieth-century Dutch Benedictine monk and architect Dom Hans van der Laan as a lens through which to view architecture and urbanism’s underlying spiritual purpose. Van der Laan’s theologically grounded vision of architecture as a sacramental mediator between the human, the natural, and the divine and empirically based rubric by which to achieve that end—through human-centric proportion, polyrhythm, and humble materiality—provide a robust framework for crafting cities and homes that reveal the sacredness inherent in the world. Through an analysis of Van der Laan’s theory and an examination of his exemplary Roosenberg Abbey, the paper illuminates the spatial, sensory, and dimensional qualities currently lacking in many contemporary urban and architectural spaces and presents a set of strategies for adapting them to better support human flourishing. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5292 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion and the arts
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685292-02704003 |