The Oosterdalfsen Family Trail
Municipality of Dalfsen, Dalfsen (NL)
Archaeological finds from the Funnel Beaker culture show us that families have lived in eastern Dalfsen for 5,000 years. Now there is a new neighbourhood on this location.
Encounters
Studio Louter and MUST Stedebouw are playfully making archaeology part of the development’s public spaces. Local residents can barbecue in the same place as early hunter-gatherers prepared their food. The public spaces inform passersby about the area’s unique history while encouraging encounters between neighbours. Thus, the design brings the current generation of residents in contact with other local families past and present.
Pilot project
We developed the family trail as a pilot project in 2016. In the middle of the field where the finds were discovered lies a path lined with modern-day local families’ questions for their predecessors 5,000 years ago. Experts have provided answers to some; others remain unanswered. The questions spark conversations among passing families and engage local residents with their heritage. Visitors learn more about prehistoric family life, the members of their own households, and the history of Dalfsen, Overijssel province and the Netherlands.
“The Oosterdalfsen family trail can truly be considered extraordinary. It features distinctive elements, each with its own compelling story.”
By the editorial team of the Municipality of Dalfsen – November 2022
Credits
Client
Municipality of DalfsenContent Design
Studio LouterUrban Design
MUST StedebouwConstruction ‘Family Path’
Fiction Factory