Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Metsä Wood‘s Kerto LVL has been integral to the Netherlands’ first large-scale modular construction project, with the entire load-bearing structure constructed from LVL.
The five-storey residential complex in Almere delivers 103 homes using an industrialized modular system developed by housing corporation De Alliantie and constructor Koopmans Bouwgroep. This project highlights how modular LVL construction can speed up delivery, minimize environmental impact, and tackle key challenges in the construction sector, including extended timelines, labour shortages, and the need to reduce carbon emissions.
Industrial efficiency meets scalability
Xylino is constructed from 436 prefabricated wooden modules manufactured by geWOONhout, each arriving on site with integrated technical systems. Installation teams place eight to twelve modules per day, completing three to four apartments simultaneously, with an entire residential block reaching completion in approximately four weeks. The system’s scalability is enabled through digital design integration, where every component has a digital twin accessible via QR code, ensuring manufacturing consistency while allowing flexibility in layout and housing typologies.
Resource-efficiency and structural performance
Kerto LVL was selected for its superior strength-to-weight ratio and dimensional precision. The material is up to 50 percent more resource-efficient than comparable mass timber products while delivering equivalent performance, reducing transportation emissions and on-site material handling requirements.
The project uses various Kerto LVL products, each optimised for specific applications: 5.2-metre Kerto LVL S-beams for floors and roofs, 2.9-metre S-beams for studs and rim beams, and 5.05-metre Kerto LVL Q-panels for floor surfaces. For load-bearing stability walls, 100-millimetre reglued Q-panels at 3.3 metres are employed. CNC machining ensures precise tolerances within 0.5 millimetres, guaranteeing accurate installation and minimizing waste.
Kerto LVL’s listing in Category 1 of the Dutch National Environmental Database provides verified lifecycle assessment data that simplifies compliance with Dutch sustainable building regulations and supports transparent environmental reporting.
Performance, comfort and circularity
Xylino meets rigorous standards for acoustic comfort, fire safety and durability, achieving R120 protection and 120 minutes of structural fire resistance. Acoustic decoupling between modules and additional mass in floors deliver residential performance thresholds.
Environmental considerations extend across the building lifecycle. Lighter foundations reduce transportation impacts, and modules are designed for disassembly and material recovery. The completed buildings feature solar panels, high-performance insulation and rainwater harvesting systems, with low-carbon concrete deployed only where necessary.
Aafke Van der Werf, Director of geWOONhout, emphasises the project’s design ambitions: “The best thing about Xylino is that you can’t tell from the outside that it was built using industrialised methods. To me, that proves that architectural freedom and modular construction can go hand in hand.”
Ready for replication
Xylino demonstrates that modular LVL construction can deliver affordable, high-quality housing at scale. Metsä Wood continues to expand Kerto LVL material supply and technical support across the Netherlands and Belgium to support the growing demand for industrialised timber construction. As Bas Broeke, Project Manager at Koopmans Bouwgroep, observed: “This system is ready to be repeated. The way it works here means we can apply it in many more places.”
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Tags: CNC, LVL, Metsa Wood, Netherlands, prefabrication, sustainability, wood building, wood panel
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