Blok P
Encyclopedia
Blok P is the largest residential building in all of Greenland
, and the largest building in Nuuk
. It contains around 320 apartments and it is said that approximately 1% of the total population of Greenland live in this building.
. 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 small European style wardrobes which were too small to store fishing gear. This gear was then stored on the balconies, blocking fire exits and creating a security hazard. 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 is only five stories high but at a length of 64 apartments, translating to over 200 metres, it cuts right across Nuuk in a east-west direction. Block P is generally viewed very unfavourably by the local population, and it is even presented to tourists as "so depressing that it's almost an attraction in itself".
. Presently the building is to be dismantled in four, possibly five stages, starting in 2011 with the final stage of land clearing and handover in 2014-2015.
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, and the largest building in Nuuk
Nuuk
Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...
. It contains around 320 apartments and it is said that approximately 1% of the total population of Greenland live in this building.
History
The building was built and erected in 1965-1966 as part of the Danish parliament's, Folketinget, 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 what was then the Kingdom of DenmarkKingdom of Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark or the Danish Realm , is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting of Denmark proper in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. Denmark is the hegemonial part, where the...
. The size and floor plan of the apartments were entirely unsuitable for the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
lifestyle, with narrow doorways making it difficult, or sometimes impossible to enter and exit wearing thick cold weather clothing, and small European style wardrobes which were too small to store fishing gear. This gear was then stored on the balconies, blocking fire exits and creating a security hazard. 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 is only five stories high but at a length of 64 apartments, translating to over 200 metres, it cuts right across Nuuk in a east-west direction. Block P is generally viewed very unfavourably by the local population, and it is even presented to tourists as "so depressing that it's almost an attraction in itself".
Recent developments
Greenland Home Rule in conjunction with Nuuk City Council proposed a plan in 2010 to dismantle and sanitize the building. The current residents are being offered housing in QinngorputQinngorput
Qinngorput is a district of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. It is located near to the east-northeast of the town centrum, south of Nuuk Airport, approximately outside of the city centre.- History :...
. Presently the building is to be dismantled in four, possibly five stages, starting in 2011 with the final stage of land clearing and handover in 2014-2015.