Hans van der Laan
Early life
Early life
----------

Van der Laan was the ninth of the eleven recorded children of [Leiden](/wiki/Leiden "Leiden") architect [Leo van der Laan](/wiki/Leo_van_der_Laan "Leo van der Laan") (1864–1942\) by his marriage to Anna Stadhouder (1871–1941\). His brothers [Jan van der Laan](/wiki/Jan_van_der_Laan "Jan van der Laan") and [Nico van der Laan](/wiki/Nico_van_der_Laan "Nico van der Laan") also became architects. His teenage years were marred by a diagnosis of [tuberculosis](/wiki/Tuberculosis "Tuberculosis") when he was seventeen. The illness also delayed the commencement of his university level studies, but he used a year in a sanatorium to study higher mathematics so that once he did resume his studies he was able to omit the mathematics based elements of the standard course.

Hans studied architecture from 1923 to 1926 at the [Technische Hogeschool](/wiki/Technische_Universiteit_Delft "Technische Universiteit Delft") of [Delft](/wiki/Delft "Delft"), where [M.J. Granpré Molière](/wiki/Marinus_Jan_Granpr%C3%A9_Moli%C3%A8re "Marinus Jan Granpré Molière") was the dominant figure. Granpré Molière regarded his Catholic faith as inseparably bound up with architecture, a concept with which Van der Laan could not agree. He did not complete his course and in 1927 moved to [St. Paul's Abbey, Oosterhout](/wiki/St._Paul%27s_Abbey%2C_Oosterhout "St. Paul's Abbey, Oosterhout"), to become a [Benedictine](/wiki/Benedictine "Benedictine") monk. He was ordained into the priesthood in 1934\. Later he lived in [St. Benedictusberg Abbey](/wiki/St._Benedictusberg_Abbey "St. Benedictusberg Abbey") at Mamelis near [Vaals](/wiki/Vaals "Vaals"). As [sacristan](/wiki/Sacristan "Sacristan") he developed a strong interest in the design of liturgical objects and church furnishings. His interest in architecture was also reawakened. He tried to find an answer to the question of which criteria the aesthetics of a building must meet, and developed a theory of numerical relationships in which the "[plastic ratio](/wiki/Plastic_ratio "Plastic ratio")", a three\-dimensional expression of the [golden ratio](/wiki/Golden_ratio "Golden ratio"), played a central part.

After [World War II](/wiki/World_War_II "World War II") Van der Laan, with his brother Nico, led a course in Church Architecture in the [Kruithuis](/wiki/Kruithuis_%28%27s-Hertogenbosch%29 "Kruithuis ('s-Hertogenbosch)") in ['s\-Hertogenbosch](/wiki/%27s-Hertogenbosch "'s-Hertogenbosch"), using the early Christian [basilica](/wiki/Basilica "Basilica") as an example, for training architects for the post\-war reconstruction of Catholic churches and monasteries, and also of secular buildings. From these courses arose the [Bossche School](/wiki/Bossche_School "Bossche School"), a name given by opponents of the Van der Laan brothers and their followers. To illustrate his ideas about relationships he made use of two teaching aids developed by himself: the architectural abacus and the morphotheque, for two\- and three\-dimensional forms respectively.


Is the Bossche School still relevant today?