Rhythms of Silence and Space: Contemplation and Architectural Proportion in Dom Hans van der Laan

Abstract

Rhythms of Silence and Space:Contemplation and Architectural Proportion in Dom Hans van der Laan C. M. Howell (bio) The St. Benedictusberg Abbey at Vaals in the Netherlands is first glimpsed in its perch atop a hill on a relatively desolate stretch of road. Two round towers dominate its south elevation, appearing more as imitations of a Renaissance palace than a residence of the Benedictine order. The towers appear both too grand and too miniscule at the same time, spaced too far apart as they encroach on the building between them. This view is lost as the single lane dives downhill through a forest. When the abbey reemerges, this time presenting its west façade, there is a dramatic architectural shift. A chapel added in 1962, some four decades after the original building, now greets visitors. The conical towers are blocked by this monolithic rectangular mass. Its surface is only disturbed by the small repetitive windows, mainly in a clerestory under the eave. The vague allusion to fantasy has become a single, concrete expression. Its presence is tranquil—one unified in conversation with reason's conviction. The change between the two views is disorientating, forcing a pause to search for the entrance. The abbey is a tale of two buildings—the former by the ecclesial architect Dominkus Böhm, and the latter designed by Dom Hans van der Laan (1904–91), an influential modern architect and devout Benedictine monk. The view from the back pew of the chapel rests in the shadow of comfort. The eye chases the architectural lines, searching for the genius behind the work. The building is simple and squared. It is wholly comprised by a series of rectangular forms, precisely arranged along their vertical and horizontal axes. The crisp lines of columns and portals come to definition as the melodies and harmonies of the monks fill the space. Their meter is certain. Their song actively restrained. Light replicates the ordered meter of chant. Its own is a rhythm being determined by the spacing of window and wall. Its path leads the eye to the altar—the centerpiece of the chapel—refocusing attention with every passing cloud. From this view, the only worry is of disturbing the stillness. The topic of architecture and spirituality generally conjures up ancient images quite distant from van der Laan's modernism.1 These are of great stone cathedrals and elegant marble temples, abounding with extravagant ornament that stirs wonder. A nostalgia operates alongside these images, romanticizing a view of the past on the one hand and preemptively critiquing modern design on the other. [End Page 211] Click for larger view View full resolution St. Benedictusberg Abbey at Vaals via Charles Howell Less commonly acknowledged is that questions of spirituality are equally present in modern discussions of architecture. In fact, the question of the human spirit's place in the built world was in many ways the foundation of modern architecture. Technological advancement exerts a particularly powerful force, wrenching apart a once-intimate unity between buildings and the natural limitations of their materials. Alloys and synthetic materials gave architecture an open horizon of creative possibilities. The result is a multiplication and fragmentation of architectural styles throughout the nineteenth century. Modern architecture sought to bring some order to this stylistic chaos. Much of the movement was organized around the key question of whether there is a central meaning for architecture or, in technical terms, a defining principle for architectural proportion. A consensus was never reached on this question, but the search for such a unifying principle kept the topic of proportion alive in debates of architectural theory. At least nine hundred publications on the topic existed by the middle of the twentieth century.2 These debates were typically conducted by architects drawing on principles and insights from philosophy, theology, and aesthetics. More importantly, they focused on how the spontaneous human spirit finds a place in the material world, and whether there is any transcendent unity between the two. Van der Laan interprets this spirit-matter relationship, as it comes to be called, through the dimensions of human spirituality inscribed by God in creation. These are the capacities of movement, perception, and intellect. What...