Sustainability Report

Rather than pursuing formal certification, LMNL’s approach focuses on lived experience and material integrity. The success of a building, they argue, is judged not by data but by how it feels to inhabit: is the light good, is the air fresh, does it smell natural, does it ever overheat? The studio’s innovations in bio-based and geo-based materials are guided by these simple but enduring questions.

Embodied carbon overview

• The structure of the Veldhuis is built from cross-laminated timber (CLT), insulated with wood fibre, and finished with thatch on the roof and east facade — all materials with very low embodied carbon that offset the use of brick and glass. 
• The choice of brick was both a contextual and client-driven decision, connecting the new home to the local building tradition. 
• The CLT, manufactured by Binderholz and supplied and assembled by Dutch partner Ekoflin, was complemented by wood-fibre insulation from Gutex and Elka ESB backerboard (not OSB). The thatch, supplied by the Dutch Trade Federation of Thatchers and Groene Bouwmaterialen, was locally harvested rather than imported. 
• Together, the CLT/wood-fibre/thatch build-up — the first of its kind in the world — achieves a high Rc value (a measure of thermal resistance in Dutch building standards) and remains fully vapour-permeable, allowing the building to breathe naturally.

Centrum Hout

According to calculations by Centrum Hout — the Netherlands’ national information centre for timber construction — the 128 cubic metres of wood used in the Veldhuis stores 79,691 kilograms of CO2. This is roughly equivalent to the emissions from driving 670,000 kilometres in a mid-sized car or the annual electricity use of 88 households. In comparative terms, wood performs far better than conventional materials: while timber sequesters carbon, equivalent quantities of concrete, PVC, steel, and aluminium would generate approximately 40,000, 498,000, 1.64 million, and 2.69 million kilograms of CO2 respectively.

Operational emissions overview

• Heating and cooling are provided by a deep ground-source heat pump, with solar panels discreetly integrated into the veranda roof. 
• Running along the spine of the house, a thick earth-brick wall (made by OskamVF, a Dutch producer of unfired earth blocks and clay-based building systems) acts as a radiant heating and cooling element. Its embedded pipes replace the need for radiators, while its thermal mass helps stabilise indoor temperatures and buffer humidity. 
• Finished in a fine clay plaster by Clayworks, the wall is naturally resistant to mould and subtly animated by shifting light. Working in tandem with the home’s radiant system, it maintains a steady indoor temperature of around 20°C and regulates humidity, enhancing comfort while protecting the timber structure over time.