Blok P

Blok P, in Nuuk, was the largest residential building in all of Greenland. It contained around 320 apartments and it is said that approximately 1% of the total population of the entire country lived in the building.[1] The building was demolished on 19 October 2012.[2]

Blok P, South side
Staircases in Blok P (2011)
Blok P, North side with flag
Blok P, balconies

History

The building was built and erected in 1965–1966 as part of the Danish parliament Folketinget's programme since 1953 to modernize and urbanize the Greenlandic infrastructure by moving people away from the coastal settlements which were deemed "unprofitable, unhealthy and unmodern".

When it was built it was the largest building construction in the Kingdom of Denmark.[3] The size and floor plan of the apartments were entirely unsuitable for the Inuit lifestyle, with narrow doorways making it difficult, or sometimes impossible to enter and exit wearing thick cold weather clothing, and common European style wardrobes were too small to store fishing gear. This gear was then stored on the balconies, blocking fire exits and creating a security hazard.[4] During the first years there were minor problems with coagulated blood clogging up the drainage, stemming from the fishermen using the only available reasonable place to carve up their catch: the bathtubs.

The building was only five stories high but at a length of 64 apartments, translating to over 200 metres, it cut right across Nuuk in an east-west direction. Blok P was generally viewed very unfavourably by the local population, and it was even presented to tourists as "so depressing that it's almost an attraction in itself".[5]

Recent developments

The Greenlandic Home Rule in conjunction with Nuuk City Council proposed a plan in 2010 to dismantle and sanitize the building. The residents were mainly offered housing in Qinngorput.[6] The building was dismantled in five stages, starting in 2011 with the final stage of land clearing and handover in 2014. The city has held hearings and workshops for future development of the area in a 2024 plan.

Largest Greenland flag

The northern end of the house was decorated with the biggest known Greenlandic flag. The flag, which consisted of discarded articles of clothing, was sewn by a local artist – Julie Edel Hardenberg – with the help of schoolchildren.[7]

References
  1. Doel, Ronald E.; Harper, Kristine C.; Heymann, Matthias (2016-07-06). Exploring Greenland: Cold War Science and Technology on Ice. Springer. ISBN 9781137596888.
  2. Lea Wind-Friis: "Berømt og berygtet grønlandsk bygning fik dramatisk afslutning", tilgået 19-10-2012
  3. "Farvel til blok P" (in Danish). Politiken.dk. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  4. "Nuuk, Mike Bode and Staffan Schmidt". Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  5. "Block P in Nuuk Town (Godthab)". Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  6. "Block P-dwellers resettled in Qinngorput" (in Danish). Sermitsiaq.AG. Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  7. Tim Folger. "Changing Greenland". National Geographic. Retrieved 2011-06-02.

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