not built
Church model - atrium 1
The materials which form the basis of this image partly originate from recent photographs of the St. Benedictusberg abbey in Vaals. The result should show well-proportioned levels of brightness between the floor, walls and ceiling. The green tinted glass in the existing church has also been applied in the model: the effect can be noticed when faced with the warm glow of sunlight after leaving the church hall.
Church model - atrium 2
In a letter to Richard Padovan on December 12, 1984, Van der Laan writes that after 1960 and the invention of the form bank it became clear that the main shape of the church of St. Benedictusberg abbey should answer to the most central of al 36 shapes. This would change the entire chain of proportions, up to the dimensions of the piers (pillars). An elaboration of this idea was reflected in a model of a church as part of the exhibition at the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht in 1981.
Church model - atrium 3
An important change in the improved design is that the atrium now only has one floor instead of two. In the built version the pillars might seem very thin in shape whereas the revised design shows pillars with a solidity of an almost primitive character.
Church model - interior
The dimensions of this design form the basis for these images. First of all, a comparison with the completed design in Vaals shows a greater wall thickness, a development which can be seen throughout Van der Laan’s built work. Another notable difference is that in the model 12 windows are shown above 7 openings along the gallery, while in the existing church there are 14 windows above 8 gallery openings. The altered dimensions of the model create rhythms and proportions which result in smaller deviations of widths in the corners.
Creyghton residence interior
In 1965 Van der Laan designed a combined residence and studio for the painter P.S.W. Creyghton. The intended location was in Vijlen, near the St. Benedictusberg abbey where the new crypt had then been completed a few years earlier as a first phase in the planned expansions. The design only has flat roofs and in a way looks towards a future phase in the work of Van der Laan of which the Roosenberg abbey in Waasmunster is the main design.
Creyghton residence exterior
As seen from the outside, the residence consists of three box shaped volumes which penetrate each other in a square perimeter. The play of different heights of successively the wall around the courtyard, the studio and the residential area is reminiscent of later compositions of the joining of volumes, which illustrate the concept of thematismos.
Creyghton residence drawing
The image is an original drawing by dom Hans van der Laan. The drawing shows a plan of the Creyghton residence.
Crypte of Mariavall abbey in Tomelilla, Sweden
The unexecuted design for a crypt for the Mariavall abbey in Sweden was initially an integral part of the complete design for the abbey, Van der Laan’s last building to be completed. Two staircases at either sides of the entrance to the church would descend into this space, to which no specific duty was assigned in the plan. The inner two rows of columns are an example of a double gallery, while the outer rows, as in the church hall above, evoke a nave. As in the crypt of the St. Benedictusbertg abbey in Vaals, the daylight enters through the windows on one long wall. The walls which divide the galleries in Vaals into individual areas have disappeared in this design. The difference in height between the gallery and the hall has been given the shape of stairs in this design. Without a designed arrangement of furniture there remains only a complex interplay of space.