NAiM/Bureau Europa outlined a program on the fault line between architecture and design, with the interior as common thread. The first in a series of three exhibitions is titled ‘The Human Habitat’ presenting architect, designer, theorist and monk Dom Hans van der Laan (1904-1991).
The work of Dom van der Laan is comprehensive; not only did he design buildings, he also gave form to interiors and even the liturgy.
Because most of his buildings are not publicly accessible, it is hard to make this heritage visible to a broader public. This exhibition attempts to reconstruct the spatial and contemplative experience of his work.
The exhibition features a reconstructed monastery chamber on a 1:1 scale, decorated with the furniture by Van der Laan. The temporal structure of the monastery is also reconstructed; during the masses, titled Sext, Noon and Vespers, Gregorian chanting can be heard. Through three different publications, the work within the exhibition ‘The Human Habitat’ can be approached from either the domain of architecture, design or as part of a system of meaning.
Curator: Wendel ten Arve
Exhibition design: Wim de Vos
Graphic design: Hansje van Halem
Photography: Jos Nelissen and Tineke Kambier
Exhibition
Opening
