Transformations through rhythm and atmosphere: Dom Hans van der Laan

Caroline Voet’s research and practice explores the transformation of buildings as an intense and atmospheric dialogue between the existing fabric and new potentialities. Structural expression and detailing, material reuse and climate control in this are not purely technical or materialist, but intertwined with poetics of space as atmosphere. Experience and well-being are an intrinsic part of the design of an architectural culture.

In this lecture, Caroline Voet unravels the design principles of Dutch Benedictine monk and architect Dom Hans van der Laan (1904-1991), providing insights and tools for the contemporary architectural practice. In her books as A House to Live With (2025, Park Books) and Dom Hans van der Laan. A Design Manual (2026, nai010 Publishers) she gradually redraws Van der Laan's philosophy of Architectonic Space. Voet demonstrates that these principles are based on design traditions from Vitruvius to the Renaissance and even Baroque architecture, with Van der Laan's specific approach striving for a modern dynamic spatial effect. The lecture provides new insights to validate the spatial experiments of Architectural Space and apply them to the complex design challenges of the future.

Caroline Voet, PhD is an architect and associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture, KU Leuven and founder of VOET architectuur + objects. This lecture is part of her sabbatical research on the house and on beauty, which brings her from China back to Venice and Rome, landing in her own scenographic projects and a new series of publications. Voet explores transformations in architecture through the drawing of spatial poetics and patterns, connecting creativity and care.

www.carolinevoet.be

www.structuralcontingencies.be

Voet researches creative (re-)use, dissecting buildings, architectural drawings and the design process. Her scholarly research has been published in a number of international journals including ARQ (Cambridge University Press) and Interiors (Routledge). Her book Dom Hans van der Laan. A House for the Mind received the DAM Architectural Book of the Year Award 2018, and is currently being translated in Chinese by China Academy of Arts and Archipelago. She was co-editor of the book Autonomous Architecture in Flanders (2016) and of The Hybrid Practitioner; Building, Teaching, researching Architecture (2022). Her office VOET crosses the boundaries between small architectures and reconversions, scenography and curatorship, creating projects within the cultural domain for clients like Dublin Castle, Flanders Architecture Institute and Arts Centre deSingel.

For online attendance, please book your ticket before 18.00 on the day of the event. A link to watch the talk online will be sent to attendees before it begins.

Tickets on the door cost £15

Picture: House Jan de Jong , completed 1967