H. van der Laan (1904-1991) Hans (J.Th.M.) van der Laan was born in 1904 in Leiden, the ninth child of Catholic architect Leo van der Laan. After high school, he works for some time in the office of his father and his eldest brother Jan, also an architect. In 1923 he starts studying architecture at the Technical High School in Delft, where, under the guidance of Professor Granpré Molière, he and several fellow students search for the fundamentals of architecture. Van der Laan does not find answers to his questions and takes a different path. He quits his studies in 1926 to join the order of St. Benedict. In 1934, he was ordained a priest. As a monk, Van der Laan stayed in touch with a few student friends from Delft. However, he has the most contact with his younger brother Nico, who also studied architecture in Delft after him. Both brothers are interested in architectural theory. Through his brother Nico, Dom Hans van der Laan becomes involved in the Church Architecture Course as a lecturer after World War II. This course provides the framework for a fundamental investigation into the true essence of a human, God-dedicated dwelling and prompts publications in the French-language journal 'L'art d'Eglise' in the period 1948-1960. In 1960, Dom van der Laan published the book "Le nombre plastique," in which he expounded his architectural theory based on a system of dimensional relationships, which he called the "plastic number. The classes, taught by Hans van der Laan at the Kruithuis in Den Bosch until the 1970s, are the inspiration for the so-called 'Bossche School'. There are only a few works to Dom van der Laan's name. Without exception, these are clear and austere buildings, stripped of all decoration. In them, functions are separated and materials are displayed without embellishment. His life's work is the monastery Sint-Benedictusberg in Lemiers. He expands the monastery with a crypt (1962) and a church (1967). The plastic figure is normative for the entire design, not only for the building itself, but also for the furniture, liturgical objects and chasubles. The materials he uses are simple and pure, allowing nothing to hinder the optimal experience of the space. With the construction of a library wing with sacristy, Van der Laan completed the monastery in 1986. Meanwhile, continuing his research into the foundations of architecture, he focuses increasingly on the relationship of the building to its surroundings. He presents his theories on architecture and urban planning in "De architectonische ruimte" (1977). Dom Hans van der Laan died in 1991.