Dom Hans van der Laan Unique Oak High Back Bench c. 1960

Name: Dom Hans van der Laan Unique Oak High Back Bench c. 1960
Brand: Dom Hans van der Laan

$38,000

£28,742.83

€33,561.12

CA$54,117.95

A$54,909.04

CHF 31,367.50

MX$664,811.52

NOK 368,508.41

SEK 368,020.42

DKK 250,883.01

About the Item

Unique Dom Hans van der Laan unique oak high back bench. Commissioned for Willibrordkerk (St Willibrord’s Church), Almelo. The Netherlands c. 1960’s. Van der Laan rarely used oak in his furniture. This unique piece is also without the copper nails typical of his work. Willibrordkerk Almelo was designed by Jan de Jong according to the Plastic Number and the ideas of Dom Hans van der Laan. Despite being one of the best examples of Dutch churches of the modernist era the church was knocked down in 2005 as part of a series of unfortunate closures. Two large friezes by Igor Strawinsky (1907 - 1989), son of composer, Igor Strawinsky, were preserved intact. A deep friendship had developed between Strawinsky and van der Laan, who highly valued sacred art. Dimensions: 67” length, 25.25” depth, 44.25” height, 16” seat height About Dom Hans van der Laan (1904 - 1991): Dutch Benedictine monk, architect, and leading figure of the Bossche School, Dom Hans van der Laan developed a new vision for architecture from within the confines of the monastery, completely uninfluenced by discussions in the world of architecture and design. Not perceiving the golden ratio to be relevant to the field, van der Laan developed a theory of the ‘plastic number’, which he developed over decades by methodically studying the rhythms, rules and proportions found in nature. The mathematics of beauty. Approached from a philosophical, theological and technological perspective, his architecture and furniture examines the primeval origin of architectural principles and the fundamental essence of the form. On both a theoretical and practical level, van der Laan sought to give significance and importance to simplicity. A voice to silence, a form to the void. If van der Laan’s innovative work is characterized by an all embracing simplicity, numbers are the only decoration present. These numbers govern all formal choices and establish a relationship between the parts but, once used, disappear without a trace, leaving only the invisible harmony that permeates.

Creator:
Dom Hans van der Laan (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 44.25 in (112.4 cm)Width: 67 in (170.18 cm)Depth: 25.25 in (64.14 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
Style:
Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Oak
Place of Origin:
Netherlands
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
c. 1960
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Brooklyn, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU6858239820982

Shop All Dom Hans van der Laan

Dom Hans van der Laan

Dom Hans van der Laan was the ninth of the 11 recorded children of Leiden architect Leo van der Laan (1864–1942). Dom van der Laan began his studies in architecture at the Technische Universiteit Delft in 1923, two years after he finished his secondary school. Architectural education in those days was generally confined to nineteenth-century neoclassicism and all teachers originated from before the first world war. Students in their third year of study had to make their designs, but those of Hans van der Laan were all rejected. In the same autumn, he founded, together with some fellow-students, a study-group, the Bouwkundige Studiekring’BSK (‘Architectural Study Circle’), aiming to discover themselves the very basics of architecture, which they missed in regular teaching. On 26 May 1929, Hans van der Laan and his fellow-novice Herman Diepen made their profession in the abbey. In 1936 father Hans was charged with the guidance in the sacristy, which he would retain till his departure to Vaals in 1968. After the war, father van der Laan was invited by the bishop of Breda to take the guidance of a working party, charged with the rebuilding of the destroyed churches in the diocese. In 1951, the abbey of Sint-Benedictusberg in Vaals had been founded a second time by a group of monks of the Saint-Paul's abbey of Oosterhout and father Van der Laan was asked by them to design the still missing crypt and church. On 18 October 1968, father Van der Laan changed his domicile from Oosterhout to Vaals, where in 1970, he became an official member of the community of Sint-Benedictusberg. In his new home, he also was appointed as sacristan, so that he could continue his familiar daily work and in 1973 he was elected as a member of the Council, the board under the guidance of the abbot. Before his death, Van der Laan garnered worldwide acclaim for his comprehensive architectural theory, which has been translated into several languages and presents a doctrine of connections in the design of architectural space, notably the plastic number.

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