Writer: C.M. Howell

Hans van der Laan’s Instruments of Thought: Proportion, Architecture, Analogy (2025)

Hans van der Laan’s Instruments of Thought: Proportion, Architecture, Analogy (2025)

C.M. Howell

Introduction A steady trickle of works on Dom Hans Van der Laan has appeared in the years since his passing in 1991. Most important among these, Richard Padovan has presented a compelling argument for the significance of Van der Laan’s theory of proportion through a series of texts, including Dom… Read More

C.S. Peach and the Cruciform Design of the Cathedral

C.S. Peach and the Cruciform Design of the Cathedral

C.M. Howell

In view here is a startling watercolour by Charles Stanley Peach, titled Plan of a Church Constructed on Divine Principles (1910)—his pictorial articulation of the cruciform layout of the Christian Cathedral. Architectural aspects are overlayed upon two images of Jesus. The first with his arms splayed wide, hands pinned to… Read More

The Religious Architecture of Alvar, Aino and Elissa Aalto (2023) — Review

The Religious Architecture of Alvar, Aino and Elissa Aalto (2023) — Review

C.M. Howell

There is an ongoing debate within the field of theology and the arts concerning to what degree ‘theology’ must guide the discussion. Those on one side of the divide argue that unless the terms are clearly staked out within traditional discourses and literature in theology, we do not know what… Read More

Hans Hollein & Spiritual Expression in Architecture

Hans Hollein & Spiritual Expression in Architecture

C.M. Howell

The defining characteristics of modern architecture took shape against a host of disorientating shifts in the 19th century. On the theoretical side, the instantiation and development of aesthetics as an autonomous realm strained a sacred harmony between beauty, truth, and goodness. On the practical side, technological, social, and cultural advancements… Read More