1st Edition

Hans van der Laan’s Instruments of Thought Proportion, Architecture, Analogy

By Tiziana Proietti, Kees Biesen Copyright 2025
202 Pages 108 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

202 Pages 108 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

202 Pages 108 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

The work of the Dutch Benedictine monk and architect Hans van der Laan (1904–1991) offers important insights into the ways in which artifacts address the complexity of human physical, cognitive, and social needs. Van der Laan developed a number of powerful lines of thought, three of which are introduced here: the search for a theory of architecture; the establishment of a three-dimensional system... Read more

1. Introduction  2. From Things to Thoughts to Understanding  3. From Thoughts to Things to Practice  4. The Great Play of Forms  Annex

Biography

Tiziana Proietti is an architect, educator, and researcher. She is Professor at the C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma where she holds joint appointments in the Departments of Architecture and Interior Design. She is director of the Sense Base Laboratory, a hub for interdisciplinary research aiming toward bridging neuroscience and architecture and testing human response to architectural proportion. 

Kees den Biesen is an independent scholar in literature, philosophy, and theology, specialized in early Christian literature, architectural theory, and symbolical theology. His main interest is in the interaction between art, thought, and religion. He is primarily engaged in publishing in the field of Syriac studies and teaches at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.