A Church in The Netherlands

St. Benedictusberg Abbey

The church and atrium are realised in a proportion of 3:8. The study below is based on a revised study with 7 drawings, presented by Dom Hans Van der Laan in a lecture on 12 December 1984. Here he changes the proportion into 3:7.

More important is the methodology presented in the study. Below we follow the step by step proportional analysis that starts with the altar and ends with the overall space.

Dom Hans van der Laan explains:

'The church of Vaals has been designed like a long hall preceded by an atrium, accompanied by two galleries and ended by a transversal gallery. The atrium itself is enclosed on four sides by a gallery. Above the column-spacings of the three galleries and the closed back wall of the hall is a series of windows, with the same proportion as the column-spacings who bear the ceiling. The galleries of the hall together with those of the atrium have a flat roof, the nave itself has a pitched roof.'

‘In order to integrate the church in the whole of the existing abbey of Bohm, an atrium was required. I gratefully accepted this necessity because it made it possible to create the galleries and the atrium as one large dense base, above which the open lantern of the windows and the roof would manifest the actual hall.’

'For me, the space of the choir with the altar should be almost a square with a small zone behind it for ceremonies because one should celebrate facing the believers. The part for the believers that has to precede should not be longer than its width, becuase the engagement of the believers in the celebration of the liturgy would not be fully appreciated in a longer space; I thus had to come up with an area of 3:7 but I didn't come further than the derivative of 7 i.e. 51/3 or 3:8 as it has been realised now.'

‘The determination of the size of the building is based on the disposition of the furniture as it is needed for the liturgical use and therefore, above all, the place of the altar has a central place in it.

The height of the altar is precisely based on the average body length of a human being who is standing behind the altar. This height lies in between 95 and 100 cm. If this measurement is taken as the smallest measurement of the main block with its proportions of 3 : 4 : 5^1/3, then the measurements of the top surface are maximum 175 cm x 132 cm, which fits well with the liturgical use. In that connection the ‘planum’ is 7/4 times as wide, meaning + 3 metres.’

3 : 4 : 5^1/3is the elementary block. Al sides relate as 3:4.

The height of the altar then is about 100 cm.

‘Between the choir benches and the ‘planum’ a zone of approximately 2 metres is required, so the distance between the choir benches becomes 7 metres. The double rows of the choir benches on both sides of the altar have to be 6 metres together. The unit then becomes 13 metres wide.’

The total width of the gallery is 2/9th of the total width of the church, which means that the galleries together occupy 3/7th and leave a part of 4/7th. The total width of the church becomes 7/4 x 14 = 24 1⁄2 metres.’

III

‘To end up with a surface area of 3 by 7 metres the church needs a total length of 54 metres, a length that has been maintained throughout the entire building.

The ordinance of the entire building can now be explained systematically through this largest measure.

According to a length of 54 metres, there is a width of 23,20 metres.’

‘Of that area of 54 to 23,20 metres a third part is being taken for the atrium with size 23,20 x 17,50 metres.’

17,50 m : 23,20 m = 3:4

‘The width of the gallery at the head receives a third of the width of the atrium, which is 5,70 metres.’

‘For the length of the actual hall 30,80 metres remains, that is 4/7 of the total length of the building.’

30,80 m : 54,00 m = 4:7

VII

‘The galleries, which occupy a width of 2/9th of the total width of the building are thus 4,90 wide and leave up 13,40 for the width of the nave.

Because in length and width 3/7th of the total measure has been subtracted by the atrium and the galleries, the hall has a surface of the same proportion as the entire building: 3:7.’

13,40 m : 30,80 m = 3:7

VIII

‘On the short sides of the atrium the galleries are as wide as those of the church itself, which is 2/9 of the length of the atrium; but on the long sides the galleries are smaller, 1⁄4 of the width of the atrium, that is 4,30 metres.’

‘These galleries on the long side of the atrium leave a width of 8,90 metres between them, a little more than 8,60, the derived of 10,00 metres and 2/3rd of 13,20 metres.’

‘As the big form of the building is similar with the base form of the white forms, the height of the building up to the ridge is 13,25 metres. Here of, 3/7th part is used for the height of the galleries and 4/7th part for the lantern. Likewise, in the length and width the lantern is 4/7th of the building so that its form is similar to the one of the entire building.’

5,70 m x 7,50 m = 3:4

‘The height of the column-spacings of the windows is 3/7th part of the height of the lantern, so that the heights of the column-spacings placed above each other relate as 4:7. The gallery has a column-spacing of 5,70 metres high, the windows have one of 3,25 metres high.’

3,20m x 7,50 m = 3 : 7

III

‘Height en width of every wall section, both of the galleries and of the windows are related in the basic division so that the widths of the respective wall sections are 4,30 metres and 2,45 metres wide.’

‘As the big form of the building is similar with the basic form of the white forms, the height of the building up to the ridge is 13,25 metres. Hereof, 3/7th part is used for the height of the galleries and 4/7th part for the lantern. Likewise, in the length and width the lantern is 4/7th of the building so that its form is similar to the one of the entire building.’

The height of the column-spacings of the windows is 3/7th part of the height of the lantern, so that the heights of the column-spacings placed above each other relate as 4:7. The gallery has a column-spacing of 5,70 metres high, the windows have one of 3,25 metres wide.’

III

Concerning the galleries it means 7 bays within the length and three within the width, and towards the windows 12 within the length and 5 within the width.’