Modern Medival Monasteries: Two Modern Dutch Monasteries compared to the Benedictine Ideal

In the 19th century the interest in monasteries and monastic life returned, leading to the design of the Abbey of Egmond by architect A.J. Kropholler in 1929 and the design of St. Benedictusberg in Vaals by architect Dom Hans van der Laan.<br/>This research investigates how the architects A.J. Kropholler and Dom Hans van der Laan incorporated...

City Monastery Rotterdam: A place amidst the ever-crowded city that can offer moments of rest and room for contemplation in the urban context of Rotterdam.

Preliminary to this design, a careful research was done on the proportional theory of Dom Hans van der Laan. Based on how we perceive space and measure things this system offers a way to create harmonious architecture. What can we learn from this theory for today's architecture and what is the relevance? <br/><br/>Starting from the ideas of Dom...

Campus Abbey Roosenberg: new art and education centre in Waasmunster

Abbey Roosenberg in Waasmunster, Belgium was designed by Dutch monk and architect Dom Hans van der Laan. This monumental and iconic building will no longer be used as a monastery. As KU Leuven is going to be a new host, they defined a program that would suit this new special location: a conference and study centre for architects and artists with...

RE-imagining the Roosenberg Abbey: as a congress- and study centre for Architecture, Arts and Religious studies

A Global Approach to Vernacular Practices

As many other parts of the global south, the built environment of Kullu, an Himalayan valley of Himachal Pradesh (india), will be probably threaten by several types of natural hazards, mainly caused by climate change. <br/>This fact, together with the phenomenon of migration towards the main urban environments, determines a risky and urgent...

Study at Roosenberg: design of Roosenberg study centre

The transformation from place from religion, to place for study, shares the culture background in western Europe, since the establishment of medieval university is related to the study function in medieval monasteries. Therefore the typology of monastery works as the physical and cultural context in the project, a timeless reference. Starting...

The Contemporary Monastery

Application and adaptation of the monastic typology to contemporary collective housing.

The Sublime Light and the Heterotopia. A Cistercian Cloister

An architectural perspective, on the relation between the Sublime and the Heterotopia and the role light plays therein. Eventually the notion of the f?stopos arises: a place connected and elevated to ‘the other place’ by light. The f?stopos is used as ‘theoretical inspiration’ for the design of my graduation project: a monastery for the...