An Abbey in Belgium

Scale 1 — Position of the site
Measure-systems
Scale 1 — Overall geometric scheme
Scale 2 — The monastic cell
Scale 2 — Measuring scheme of the wings
Plan organisation
Scale 2 — The half space
Scale 2 — The stairwell
Scale 2 — The church

Scale 1 — Position of the site

The analytical drawings below are made following a series of workshops at Roosenberg Abbey between 2010 and 2015. I am especially grateful to architect Frans Ruijs for his contributions.

As with scheme 9 in the cell – court – domain model, Dom van der Laan chose a peripheral disposition for the building on the site.

The way the building is positioned creates two gardens: a more private garden for the Sisters on the east side, and a larger garden on the south side for guests.

The building relates to the gardens as 3 : 4.

Through the position of the building, the forecourt becomes a yardstick for the terrain: it is 1 : 7 of the whole terrain.

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He divided the remaining 6:7 according to the ground-ratio. This gives in the total sequence: 1:7 – 2:5 – 2:4

The position of the building is defined as 2:5, for Van der Laan the most balanced or ‘eustyle’ proportion: the superposition of a clear inside on top of an outside. We will see this proportion recur in several parts of the building.

Read more about ‘Between Inside and Outside’

Theory Scale I: on the Cella and the City Between Inside and Outside

Measure-systems

At Roosenberg Abbey, Dom van der Laan works with a cell of 351 cm. Walls have a thickness of 49 cm. Based on these dimensions, the three orders of size are developed:
– The wall pieces and window openings vary between 0.5 m and 3.5 m
– The larger spaces and convent wings vary between 3.5 m and 25 m
– The terrain, or site, is 49 times bigger than the cell, or 175 m

This results in the four orders of size as shown on the left. These are the specific series of measures used for the design of Roosenberg Abbey. Again, they are like the keys of a piano from which the design is composed, as will be shown in the practical examples on the following pages. You can place your bookmark next to the analysis, to follow the exact measures.

0,5 m wall thickness
3,5 m cella
25 m court
175 m domain

Van der Laan expresses the concrete building measures in cm.

Read more about ‘Defining numerical values for the ratios’

Theory From ratio to building measures Defining numerical values for the ratios

Scale 1 — Overall geometric scheme

The plan of Roosenberg Abbey is not square.

It is a geometrical figure with two straight corners, one obtuse and one sharp.

It follows a precise geometrical scheme, which involves a rotation that gives a proportion between the straight wing and the rotated wing of 5:√26.

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The result is that the north, south and east wings relate as three consecutive sizes in an order of size. The axis of the west wing has a length of almost 5,026 cm, a derived measure of the east wing, so they almost relate by a 6:7 ratio.

As such, time through movement in the cloister around the central garden, the amount of steps that one takes to move from one space to another, is also ordered by the Plastic Number.

North wing : south wing = 3330 cm : 4410 cm = 3:4

South wing : east wing = 4410 cm : 5843 cm = 3:4

West wing = 5075 cm = no measure of the system

Read more about ‘Between Mass and Space’

Theory Scale II: on the House Between Mass and Space

Scale 2 — The monastic cell

The monastic cell or guest room is the smallest spatial unit.

wall : cell = 1:7

Roosenberg Abbey is the first place where Dom van der Laan designs this type of room for one person. Two square windows overlook the garden. The cell contains one bed with a bedside table, one cabinet and one table with a chair.

The monastic cell measures 3.51 m x 4.00 m, a proportion of 6:7. On the isometric drawing, these measures can easily be counted, through the 49 cm x 49 cm tile pattern.

Scale 2 — Measuring scheme of the wings

Width of basic wing: doubled nearness.

2 x 465 cm = 930 cm

Width of church wing:

2 x 816 cm = 1632 cm

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Width of basic wing : Width of church wing = 930 cm : 1632 cm = 4:7

Roosenberg Abbey has 12 cells for the Sisters in the south wing, and 25 cells for the guests in the west wing.

Plan organisation

1 entrance
2 forecourt
3 church
4 courtyard
5 sacristy
6 parlour
7 office
8 parlour
9 study hall
10 atelier
11 recreation
12 stairs
13 refectory
14 kitchen
15 dishes
16 refectory for the guests
17 conference hall
18 reception hall
19 museum
20 porter’s lodge
21 abbey entrance

Scale 2 — The half space

All the spaces on the ground floor, for example the refectory and the library, are shaped according to the specific formula of the hall-space, more specifically a half-space, as there is only a gallery on one side.

In Roosenberg Abbey, the half-spaces are 930 cm wide. The length is irrelevant for the expressiveness of this space and varies for each hall.

The gallery is 2/5^th of the entire width to reach Dom van der Laan’s ‘eustyle’ composition: the gallery is in superposition of the whole half-space, and does not divide it in two.

Width of gallery : Width of hall = 345 cm : 930 cm = 2:5

The bay-rhythm defined by the piers is the same as the cells: 400 cm. This gives a slower rhythms of 3 in the space.

The bay-rhythm defined by the windows is 3:4 of that of the cells: 260cm. This gives a faster rhythm of 4 in the space.

Van der Laan introduces a superposition of 2 spatial rhythms: four windows and three column-spaces.

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window arrangement:

130 cm : 260 cm = 2:4

column spacing:

83 cm : 400 cm = 2:9

araeostylos

Read more about ‘5 column-spacings and 5 window-arrangements’

Theory Scale III: on the Wall 5 column-spacings and 5 window-arrangements

For the façades of Roosenberg Abbey, Dom van der Laan develops a general formula that consists of a solid base and an open frieze, organised by two horizontal rows of windows. The open frieze relates to the whole façade as 2:5, again the eustyle condition of superposition.

Frieze and base both have a specific character, reflecting the form and rhythm of the spaces inside.

frieze : whole = 260 : 702 = 2:5

Same proportion as the half-spaces.

The top frieze is conceived as a repetitive frieze of paired, practically square windows. They are the windows of the series of cells, equally square in plan. There are two windows per cell. The solid wall pieces are rather small here, and as such, it is the wall pieces that are made; the windows ‘arise’. The small pier is always 1/3 of the wide pier. The height of the frieze windows relates to the height of the building as 1:5.

Top windows: 130 cm : 130 cm

The windows of the base have a proportion of 3:4. They are not a continuous series, but more organised in groups expressing the half-spaces on the exterior. The wall pieces are bigger, and as such these windows are ‘made’, or cut out of the wall.

130 cm :172 cm = 3:4

Lintel and sill are continuous concrete beams. The heights of the lintel and sill relate as 4:3.

Scale 2 — The stairwell

The ground level and top level are connected through a stairwell that has the length of two bays. The staircase itself is formed in a slot between the exterior façade and a new parallel wall.
The slot is illuminated from above by four windows on the first floor. This way, the light travels down the stairs, making it a bright focal point in a rather dark hall. This is enhanced by the fact that the upward movement is ‘announced’ by five steps toward the slot: first a movement toward the light, then a movement alongside the light. On the first floor, the parallel wall has a height of 1 m, so the perspective opens up as one moves upwards.

The stairwell is two bay-measures wide: 2 x 400 cm = 800 cm

With a width of 930 cm, it reaches a proportion of 6:7.

The column row that defines the disposition in the half-space is continued throughout the whole wing, so it also crosses the stairwell, defining a 2:5 eustyle proportion.

Width of stairwell: 930 cm

Width of gallery: 345 cm

Gallery : stairwell

2:5

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The stair itself is 196 cm wide. The slot parallel to the façade is in a proportion of 2:9 to the whole stairwell.

Width of stairwell: 930 cm

Width of stairs: 196 cm

Stairs : stairwell

2:9

The opening to the cloister is set at 228 cm from the side, or 2:7 of the stairwell.

Scale 2 — The church

The church of Roosenberg Abbey has an exceptional shape. It is made of a superposition of a rectangular base and an octagonal lantern. Dom van der Laan regards the octagon as a primitive formula to bring together wall-pieces to a spatial enclosure by juxtaposition. Width and height are organized according to the Plastic Number proportion of 3:4. The tabernacle is situated in a small apse behind the altar. This formula of a centralized church allows the altar to be positioned in the middle, with the celebrants gathered closely around it. Dom van der Laan referred to it as a fourfold nearness: one giant cell in the middle. As such, it is the inside space that is built here, while the outside space is left over. The result is a tension around the octagon between the spaces bordering the entrance and the apse and the two narrow corridor-like spaces on the side.

Width and length are organized according to the Plastic Number proportion of 3:4.

1632 cm : 2162 cm

3:4

Base

1632 cm : 1897 cm

6:7

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Apse

265 cm

265 cm : 1897 cm

1:7

8 octagonal sides

530 cm

height of the church: 930 cm

width : height

1632 cm : 930 cm

3:4

base : octagon lantern

530 cm : 400 cm

3:4