A collaboration seeking to push frontiers

Close cooperation to give border village a new connected centre

Dinxperlo is a border village where cultures come together, a feature which is currently barely visible. Working close together with local residents and the construction team, we have made a redesign for the village centre that will strengthen its character, increase the quality of stay, and make sure it is future-proof.

Location

Dinxperlo, the Netherlands

Status

In progress

Year

2022 - ongoing

Project area

6,2 ha

Client

Aalten municipality, Dusseldorp

Dinxperlo is seamlessly connected to Suderwick in Germany through a street called Heelweg/Hellweg. One side of the road is Dutch, the other side is German. Just a little further lies the village church surrounded by the town centre, which at present mainly functions a parking space for cars. Through the continued collaboration with residents and the construction team, including Dusseldorp and the municipality of Aalten, we are shaping the town centre into a beautiful living room for the village, its inhabitants, and tourists interested in this unique border location.

After the centre’s vision was established, it was crucial to make progress quickly. The close collaboration within the construction team and the local residents resulted in a transparent project with a significant impact and added value for both residents and visitors.

The aim is to make the centre more attractive for pedestrians and cyclists and to create a green living room around the church. The project also focuses on making the invisible border and town history more visible, attracting people who visit the border into the village centre where they can discover the historic church and Grenslandmuseum.

Green ambitions

The municipality of Aalten has set high ambitions for this project, following the United Nations Global Goals framework. More greenery, re-use of paving materials, more space for pedestrians and water retention and re-use of rainwater are central elements in the design. Equally important is the social meaning of the project with focus on participation and inclusiveness. The final design focuses on keeping a lively village centre with room for the many local events and attractive green places to stay in a car-free village square.

Visible connections

Another key feature of the village of Dinxperlo that will be given more prominence, is its location on the border with Germany and the stories from the past that come with this location. The redesign of the border along the Heelweg, a road that is shared with the German village of Suderwick, is highlighting this unique precedent for the Netherlands and the close neighbourly relationship between the two countries. A full-length visible ‘borderline’ guides tourists from the border to the inner village, with its museum and the terraces, contributing to a vibrant village square.

Great care has been given to the accessibility of the site, for instance by making this route to the centre dementia friendly. Running from an elderly home on the border with Germany, to the central church square, with plenty of benches for resting along the way.

Expanded scope

Following the successful collaboration, an offer for two more streets in Dinxperlo has been won by the combination Dusseldorp-OKRA. The Aaltenseweg and the Europastraat are now also being addressed. We are happy to further expand the project in Dinxperlo with these streets, making more space for green and cycling and improving traffic safety.