Digital Village Twin Borchen-Etteln
Making digitalization visible in rural areas: LEGO® model for the digital village twin Borchen-Etteln
For the "Digital Village Twin Borchen-Etteln" project, a LEGO®-based model of the five Borchen districts of Nordborchen, Kirchborchen, Dörenhagen, Alfen, and Etteln was created. Featuring distinctive buildings and digital future themes, the demonstrator shows how digitalization can be made visible, meaningful, and understandable even in rural areas.
As part of the project “Digital Village Twin Borchen-Etteln”, ModulAREbricks developed a LEGO®-based model that visualizes the five districts of the municipality of Borchen: Nordborchen, Kirchborchen, Dörenhagen, Alfen and Etteln.
The aim of the model was to illustrate digitalization in rural areas. Smart city and smart village concepts often seem abstract, especially when it comes to data, digital infrastructure, or future technologies. The model translates these concepts into a spatial representation and shows that digitalization can have concrete added value not only in large cities but also in villages and communities.
What was implemented?
The model depicts all five districts of Borchen. For each district, distinctive buildings or typical local features were selected and represented in the LEGO® model. This creates not only a technical visualization but also a high degree of recognition for people from the region.
The demonstrator combines local identity with digital future topics. It makes visible how real places can be used as models to initiate discussions about digitalization, infrastructure, and development in rural areas.
Areas shown
The model encompasses the five districts of Nordborchen, Kirchborchen, Dörenhagen, Alfen, and Etteln. Each district is represented by prominent buildings or typical features. This creates a cohesive model of the municipality that captures local characteristics while simultaneously visualizing future digital applications.
Use cases and staging
The model focuses on making digitalization understandable and tangible in rural areas. It demonstrates that digital solutions are not only relevant for large cities, but also for villages, communities, and smaller regions.
Topics such as digital infrastructure, future technologies, networking, municipal development, and smart village applications are placed in a spatial context through the model. Visitors can see where digital solutions can have an impact and how they are connected to real-world locations.
Use and added value
The model was designed for various applications: trade fairs, exhibitions, events, project presentations, and public communication formats. This allows it to be used flexibly to clearly explain digitalization in rural areas.
The particular added value lies in the fact that the model connects abstract digitalization topics with familiar places. People recognize buildings and districts, thus gaining easier access to future-oriented topics. In this way, digitalization is not presented as a distant technical concept, but as something directly connected to their own living environment.
