Housing – Trap Greenland

Part of the housing development in Ilulissat consists of lower terraced houses, many of which overlook the ice fjord.
HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/REUTERS/RITZAU SCANPIX, 2021

For outsiders, the epitome of Greenland housing is often the small colourful wooden houses that are beautifully tucked into a mountainside. But for most Greenlanders, today’s reality is something else. A large part of the Greenlandic population lives in flats, and multi-storey housing blocks are the predominant form of housing in large towns.

The period up to approx. 1950

Until World War II, housing for the general population was first and foremost a private matter, unless you had staff accommodation. The Greenland population lived predominantly in peat houses or primitive wooden houses. Housing conditions were miserable, and around 1940, a third of all deaths were caused by tuberculosis – a direct result of the poor housing conditions.

The original peat houses were built from the materials available, but as the Greenlanders became more settled, they also began to build houses that intertwined the Greenlandic and Northern European building customs. From around 1900, some peat houses were fitted with internal wooden walls and a permanent roof made of wood, and at the same time year-round habitation became more common. The ‘sealed’ peat houses and wooden walls caused problems with moisture and rot, and this is presumably one of the reasons why tuberculosis became so prevalent.

Some built their own wooden houses, but this was difficult; Greenlanders were unable to obtain a mortgage, and at the same time building a wooden house required planning, importing materials and knowledge of carpentry. Greenlanders were hunters and fishermen, not craftsmen.

The period approx. 1950 to 1965

After World War II, the Danish State assumed responsibility for housing for the population. The Greenland Technical Organisation (GTO) designed and built a number of standard houses which shot up both in towns and settlements. These were small and rationally built houses with no facilities, but an improvement on the peat houses. During a relatively short period of years, the standard houses became the predominant form of housing — the small colourful wooden houses, which have since become the epitome of Greenlandic building culture.

In the late 1940s and in the 1950s, the expectation was that Greenlanders were primarily fishermen. Therefore, Danish workers were sent up to build the houses, and in the beginning Greenlanders, were not allowed to participate in the construction. However, this changed and gradually so-called self-build houses were delivered as assembly kits on favourable terms. The idea was that people should be able to build a house themselves with the help of their neighbours. The self-build houses are therefore of varying quality.

The period approx. 1965 to 1975

The Danish focus on streamlining fishing and the fishing industry and the resulting wish to centralise the population in fewer settlements led to a new paradigm for construction and planning in the 1960s. During the period, the GTO built the concrete balcony access blocks found in all large towns. In 1965, the GTO built block P in Nuuk, a 200 m long and 6-storey building that at one time accommodated 1 % of the Greenlandic population.

The period approx. 1980 to 2000

The introduction of home rule in 1979 heralded a new shift in housing construction. Particularly, the Aarhus-based architectural firm, Friis & Moltke, made its mark on the building style. Moltke had travelled in Greenland after the war, and around 1950, Friis worked for the Greenland Provincial Government and designed some of the first small wooden houses. So they both had a background in Greenland. Up through the 1980s they were behind a number of multi-storey housing blocks and terraced houses in e.g. Nuuk, Sisimiut and Ilulissat. A distinctive feature of these was an architectural ‘Greenlandisation’ of the tower block building that was clearly inspired by the colourful wooden houses – a trend that is also seen in other buildings.

In 1994, INI A/S was created as a management company for the public housing.

The period approx. 2000 to 2021

Housing construction underwent some gradual changes until the next major paradigm shift, which came after the introduction of Self-Government (2009).

The challenges included major housing shortages in several towns, the fact that the public sector was the largest provider of rental housing as well as the fact that the private housing market was very small. Until now, public housing construction had been tax-financed, but in order to allow loan financing for the housing construction, the Self-Government set up the housing company Illuut A/S in 2009. The Self-Government wanted rational housing, mainly with freestanding multi-storey housing blocks (to reduce the scale of infrastructure), and, above all, it wanted many multistorey housing blocks of the same type to be built in order to keep the price down.

The Self-Government issued a competition for the new housing that was won by the firm of architects, Clement & Carlsen, with Permagreen as the contractor. This partnership has constructed a number of freestanding multi-storey housing blocks, the Tuapannguit towers in Nuuk being the first. Since then, this type of housing has been built both in the Qinngorput district of Nuuk as well as in other large towns, though at varying heights depending to the need and local conditions.

From 2015 onwards, most of the new construction has been in the form of multi-storey housing blocks, and Nuuk in particular has experienced an intense construction boom towards the end of the decade. Construction is to an increasing degree being made with private clients and is of such a magnitude that it can be difficult to get contractors to submit tenders for public-sector construction projects. As a result, the price level has risen precipitously.

Thus, the Self-Government and the municipalities have difficulty in providing adequate rental housing to cover both a social need, relocation due to work or education and the need for staff accommodation.

Ownership

Previously, the share of publicly owned rental housing was two-thirds of the total housing stock, but the share is declining. For a number of years, the Self-Government has pursued a policy that more people should own their own home, including getting tenants to buy their home. However, since up to 40 % of the population relocates each year, it is limited how many have a long-term interest in owning their own home. However, the proportion of owneroccupied and cooperative housing in the large towns has increased.

Housing market and financing

Only the four largest towns have an actual housing market where it is possible for private individuals to borrow money to finance a home. In the rest of the country, you cannot get housing loans or mortgage loans. Here, buying a home and renovating privately owned homes must be financed by either consumer loans or savings.

Maintenance needs

The Nuussuaq district north of town centre of Nuuk was established in the late 1970s and expanded during the 1980s Nuussuaq, today Nuuk’s second-largest district, is characterised by dense low-rise buildings, and many of the buildings are located in smaller enclaves around outdoor spaces.
REBECCA GUSTAFSSON/VISIT GREENLAND, 2016

In general, the old public-sector rental homes are in poor condition. Rent has been fixed politically and has not allowed regular maintenance. Accordingly, a great need exists for renovation and/or demolition. In 2018, the Self-Government assessed the renovation needs to amount to approx. DKK 1.6 billion primarily for homes built in the 60s and 70s. The Technical University of Denmark assesses that the need is somewhat greater, and also expects that a considerable need for renovating the newer housing will arise in the years ahead.

Housing in the small towns and settlements poses a particular problem. Since there is no housing market, it can be difficult for owner-occupiers to get financing for modernisation and refurbishment. It also requires knowledge, overview and competent advice – something that is largely only found in the large towns. At the same time, a major investment requires you to be certain that you will remain in the home for a number of years or that you will be able to sell the home at a price that repays the investment. This is far from the situation in the small settlements, and it is a contributory factor in the declining housing standards.