Book Launch Dom Hans van der Laan in Practice

Dom Hans van der Laan in Practice: A Design Manual

Thursday 19 February 2026, 19:30
Keilepand, Keilestraat 9f, Rotterdam (more information)

On Thursdsay, February 19 we celebrate the launch of Dom Hans van der Laan in Practice in the cultural breeding ground Keilepand. During this night, author Caroline Voet will discuss the design principles of architect, monk and model of the ‘Bossche School’ Dom Hans van der Laan. In a panel discussion with various architects led by architectural historian and journalist Marieke Berkers, we will explore the book’s creation and its relevance to contemporary design practice. Afterwards, we will conclude with drinks.

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Please note: the presentation will be in Dutch.

About the book:

In Dom Hans van der Laan in Practice, Caroline Voet unravels the design principles of Dutch Benedictine monk and architect Dom Hans van der Laan (1904–1991). His ideas about spatial experience and proportions – in particular his unique discovery of the series of plastic numbers and the measurement system derived from it – have had a major influence and are still very much alive today.

Step by step, Voet redraws Van der Laan’s philosophy of architectural space and links it to his proportional system of the plastic number in a series of clear, carefully constructed analyses. The principles of his elementary architecture – further developed by the Bossche School – are examined on the basis of completed projects, from monasteries to residential houses.

With this book, Voet offers universal tools for reading the built environment and linking it to a layered human scale. They are powerful instruments for the complex design challenges of the future.