Improvements of the organization and planning of the

Greenlandic housing constructions by the use of prefabricated elements

Iva I. Romanska and Martin L. Stamenov

MSc in Management in the Building Industry, Aalborg University, Denmark

Summer students in Course 11428, Arctic Technology Centre, DTU

ABSTRACT:

The aim of this project is to find out theoretically if the prefabrication methodology

could be successfully implemented in the Greenlandic construction in order to

improve and organize better the whole building process. In order to observe this

process and develop a strategy for improvements, we had to spend a couple of weeks

in Greenland, where we were able to be present on a few building projects in Sisimiut.

The paper illustrates important issues that are typical for the construction organization

in cold climates and provides important insight for those interested in better

performing and functioning execution of buildings. Taking into consideration the

challenge of the harsh arctic climate, with strong winds, a lot of rainy days and short

summer, a proposal for the use of prefabricated methodology has been given. Prefab

construction elements can help avoid problems typical for the on-site construction and

it helps to fasten the overall construction process, so in short terms the exterior

envelope of the building can be executed, the quality of the building can be generally

improved and the overall budget of the project reduced.

KEY WORDS: prefabrication, construction, site organization, arctic housing, prefab

wooden elements

1. INTRODUCTION

There is a great need for improvement of the majority of buildings in Greenland. Most

of them required great renovation, which has to include reducing of the energy

consumption and improving of the indoor air quality by the way of introducing

insulation materials and proper ventilation system. This project though, focuses into

the foundations of those problems and how looking further from the present situation

and applying the idea of the prefabricated construction methodology can be vastly

beneficial not only for the type housing, but also for the entire industry of Greenland.

We decided to take a deeper look into the very beginning of the construction process

and try to implement a so-called renovation, but of the whole building practice in

order to prevent future need for dramatic changes in newly built houses. Problems can

occurred at the very first moment on the construction site and that include improper

management of the work and bad planning of the storage of building materials,

excessive amounts of waste, longer execution time and many more, which all can lead

to reducing the quality and increasing the cost of a future housing construction.

Our idea, as architectural technologist and construction managers, is to introduce

some methods and techniques in the Greenlandic way of building, so they can bring

contemporary feeling to locals’ housing and everyday life, without changing their

traditions and believes. It is very typical human behavior to stay and live in the way

you are used to, avoiding changes and even sometimes improvements. We couldn’t

miss the fact that Greenlanders are not an exception. Despite all the obstacles that

their land and the extreme climate conditions bring to their life, they keep the way of

building their homes the same for the last 50 years. Today most of the Greenlandic

houses are made of basic principle wooden construction and very few mostly public

structures have been introduced with more modern architectural principles. (B. L.

Bertheussen, 2010)Traditions are in extreme importance in every little aspect of their

life, and that is related also to their building industry. We had to spend some time in

the authentic atmosphere of the Sisimiut town in order to understand the importance

of that and to observe the way of building in the country and its regulations.

2. GREENLANDIC TYPE HOUSING

Greenlandic residential housing is very easily distinguished and characterized. Almost

all houses are built using the type housing system, raised with concrete or wooden

foundations avoiding the permafrost and resisting the wind, wood-framed structures,

covered with wooden bright colored cladding, simple and relatively small with a

pitched wooden roof covered with tarred paper. (See Figure 1) Type houses have long

history and since this paper is intendant for readers, who have some particular

knowledge in the sphere of construction, but not obligatory in Greenlandic

construction, in the following subchapters information concerning their background

and the standards they used for building them is given.

Figure 1 - Typical Greenlandic housing, Sisimiut/ Photo by Iva Romanska

2.1 History of Greenlandic houses

From the time of the first settlements, people in Greenland used peat and stones to

build their homes and all the construction knowledge they had they were passing

down from generation to generation, calling themselves self-builders. In the 1950s all

that was lost with the coming of the new way of building inspired by the Danish

wooden houses. By the middle of the 50s, more than 40 different house types of

wooden construction were developed. All of the buildings had similar square meters

ranging from 20 to 70 m2 and all of them were designed for residential housing. In

1955 the Ministry of Greenland ordered the amount of type houses to be reduced to 10

houses with different dimensions, because having this large amount of type houses

was very difficult and confusing. They all had to be simplified, so all consist of the

same construction principals, the same windows, doors and inventory. The eight best

types were identified and numbered – 2, 5, 10, 14, 16, 17, 19 and 25, but some were

never used. Type house 1 and 3 were also planned, but to be used only under specific

circumstances. Later in 1960, a new type 18 was added to the series. This series was

called the standard series and was used to the early 1970s. Later series was also

introduced and some more type houses were added. (M. Marencokova & L. N.

Jensen, 2010, pp. 21-23), (P. Vladykova, 2010)

This whole development has resulted in pretty much the housing situation that is now

present in nearly the whole country. The advantage of this standardization was that

the required building materials could be collected and packed in Denmark, and

shipped and assembled on-site anywhere in Greenland. Exactly this fact gave us the

idea of using the prefabrication method and how easy it could be applied in the type

housing constructions. People still order their future homes from catalogues and they

still choose standard houses, of course with the possibility of some little changes. We

couldn’t stop ourselves of asking - why not instead of ordering materials and building

them on-site, we order ready elements and build homes for less than a week? We

analyze and observe the variation of the answers of this question and how this could

affect the Greenlandic building industry further in this paper.

2.2 Building Regulation in Greenland

The reason wooden houses became popular and at one point standard was basically

that they were thought to be more aesthetically beautiful, generally better and more

similar to the Danish way of living. Even though Greenland and Denmark are so

closed related countries and in some way dependent on one another, they are so far

from each other in many aspects. It is impossible to follow the Danish standards and

regulations in terms of building, simply because the weather conditions and climates

are extremely different.

Strangely, the Building Regulation in Greenland (GBR) is still following very closely

the Danish Building Regulation (DBR). Before 1971, there were no specific laws and

regulations and all the standard houses were developed under the Danish regulations.

Since 1982, Greenland has developed its own Building Regulation with some

differences with the DBR regarding the U-values of the houses. (P. Vladykova, 2010)

In 2006 GBR introduce the energy frame value, which finally takes into account the

climate conditions in Greenland. The country is separated into two energy demand

zones – Zone 1 is South of the Polar Circle and Zone 2 is North of the Polar Circle.

There is also a division into five zones regarding the outdoor design temperature. (M.

Marencokova & L. N. Jensen, 2010, p. 18)

Greenlandic Building Regulation is related to the Danish one, but still this could be

very beneficial in terms of the prefabrication industry. Factories and developed

companies in that sphere from Denmark could have a big interest into establishing

their business also in Greenland and the similar regulations and standards could only

be a plus. Construction elements could be produced in accordance to the energy and

outdoor temperature zones and easily ordered for the particular type house.

2.3 Problems related to the on-site construction of the Greenlandic type houses

Based on our observation on the on-site construction work in some of the building

sites that we visited in Sisimiut, we were able to find plenty of mistakes made by the

lack of planning. To begin with, one of the very first is caused by the transportation of

all the building materials. Compared to many other countries, Greenland is in an

extreme state of no natural building materials. There is no wood, neither clay, no

factories producing any important building material. Everything should be shipped,

most of the time from Denmark, or transported by air. The lack of existing

infrastructure and the roads condition are additional logistical obstacle. Most of the

contractors have to challenge themselves to establish very good working

transportation plan in order to provide the expected delivery time and to meet the

demanded deadlines.

Once the materials have arrived, they are very often stored improper and left to the

will of the nature. Figure 2 shows pictures taken on a building site in Sisimiut, where

all of the timber materials from load bearing beams and columns to floor and cladding

are exposed on the harsh winter weather. The consequences on the future building

could be both in short and long term. The moisture is often kept in the wooden

elements and restrain from drying due to the Greenlandic climate, which could be a

reason for bending and deformation, and also for future mould and other harmful

indoor air problems in the new built homes. Despite the snow, rain and wind could

also cause many issues to the building materials, when there are not stored properly.

Figure 2 – Construction site and storage of building materials during the winter,

Sisimiut/ Photos by Martin Kotol

Another disadvantage of the on-site construction is the longer execution time, which

of course increase the overall cost of every project. Construction workers are

dependable from the climate, which often can delay the project and leave the

buildings uncompleted. This all could result in bad future performance of the houses

and give not the optimal living conditions for the occupants.

Prefabrication methodology could give a solution of most of the on-site problems. It

could also improve the building site organization, reduce the construction waste, and

develop better planning and management for the future projects. So in order to

understand better how this could happen, we need to look at what actually

prefabrication means and how it could be implemented in the construction in

Greenland.

3. PREFABRICATION

Prefabrication or off-site construction is well known management application in

Denmark and many other countries from decades with high quality demands and

already developed market. Basically, the prefab constructing is a practice of

assembling smaller components in a factory and then transporting the complete

elements to the building site. The theory behind the prefabrication methodology is

that time and cost are significantly saved if similar construction tasks can be grouped.

The application particularly works where the structures are composed mostly of

repeating units and forms and where multiple copies of the same basic structure are

built.

An assembly line can be organized at a location, where skilled workers are available

and by doing this the congestion at a building site, which wastes time, can be reduced.

Producing elements indoor, where workers are well equipped and have safe and

comfortable working environment, increases the quality of the ready product, because

it could be easily monitored and controlled. It also allows all year-round construction

and the work is not affected by weather delays related to excessive cold, heat, rain,

snow, etc. Furthermore the mass production of prefab elements in a factory protects

the building materials from possible exposure to bad climate, potential theft or

damage that can happen on the building site and most importantly it reduces

considerably the waste during construction.

4. FIRST EXAMPLE OF PREFAB BUILDINGS IN GREENLAND

The idea of using the method of prefabricated construction elements is neither new

nor innovative, and even in Greenland there are a few examples. Therefore in this

chapter we look into how the prefab method was introduced to Greenland and how

did it go during the construction of the buildings. In 2011 the very first example of

house built entirely from prefabricated wooden elements was given in Upernavik. The

elements for the 90 sqm service building for Polaroil were developed by the

consulting company (Masanti A/S) in cooperation with (Grønfeldt - elementer) from

Odense, Denmark. They were delivered and the assembly of the house was done just

for 5 days, which according to the article from 10th of January 2012 in the

Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation (KNR, 2012), was the absolute record for the

fastest erection in Greenland. (See Figure 3) Later on two more service buildings for

Polaroil were built in Aasiaat and Sisimiut using the same building method.

Figure 3 – Polaroil service building, Upernavik/ KNR, 2012

Consulting engineers and architects from Masanti A/S have for many years been

thinking how to solve the challenge of the harsh Greenlandic weather conditions,

where rain and snow often delay the work and decrease the quality of the built

constructions. The solution was element-building, where most of the elements of the

house are made in a factory in Denmark. The design of the elements is said to be

developed for construction in Greenland and the shipping conditions in the country.

The main idea behind the projects of the cooperation between Masanti A/S and

Grønfeldt – Elements is to save time and close the external envelope of the house very

fast by the use of prefab wooden elements. Generally, this can positively affect the

budget of the whole project, because the expenses for the time spent in construction

works on site, also for winter provisions and storage of the materials, are down to a

minimum. Unfortunately, there are also some issues that can occur even when the

building elements are planned prior. Some of the mistakes that happened, while

executing the Polaroil service building in Sisimiut, were discussed on a meeting with

Rasmus Kruse – Nielsen, Masanti A/S. We were provided with more information

about the different problems that were experienced and an overview of them is given

in the following subchapter of this paper.

4.1 Problems that occurred during the construction of Polaroil service building in

Sisimiut

Regardless the fact that the entire construction project together with the prefab

elements were carefully designed, some troubles due to lack of experience with this

construction method and difference with the Greenlandic building traditions, were

present during the execution.

First and probably most troubled was the shipping and handling of the prefab

elements. Since the company’s production is set in Odense, Denmark, all the units had

to be transported by sea to the coast of Greenland. This of course led to rise of the

overall budget for the project, since the elements are produced just for a few

buildings. Shipping is extremely developed in the country, since it is probably the

most common transportation way, but optimal fulfilling of containers is more difficult

when all the components are placed together in units. By the exporting of prefab

elements from Denmark, where the industry is highly developed to excellent quality

of production, Greenland gain quality assurance for its future housing, but on the

other hand this lead to vast decrease of the local work load. It is very impermissible in

long term to restrain in such a way the local workers, since construction industry is

one of the most profitable for the country.

In fact we know that in the case of delivery of the prefab elements for Polaroil service

building in Sisimiut, proper storage was not planned and provided. (See Figure 4)

Logistically all the components were transported to the site in a correct way, but due

to not knowing and bad supervision, all of the elements were dropped off on the

harbor. Without any protection from the weather, all of the components were exposed

on the rain and that brought moisture issues, delay in the entire project and additional

cost for the contractor due to replacing some of the damaged component. Even that

the building was supposed to be closed for less than a week, an appropriate storage

had to be provided for the prefab elements and by doing this all the unnecessary

delays could have been avoided.

To avoid all of the issues stated above and the challenges that the Greenlandic

construction industry brings to the workers on site, and ideal solution is presented.

Changing the production location from Denmark to Greenland will save time and cost

for shipping and will avoid all mentioned unnecessary troubles that could happen.

Finally, all benefits due to eventual future development of the project are observed

and pointed out.

5. THE PRODUCTION WAREHOUSE

As already stated, the aim of this project is to be as close as possible to the real life of

the local people of Sisimiut, but in the same time to introduce an idea that can

improve their way of building and living from many different aspects without

changing much their strong traditions. A real project needs a real place, where it could

be implemented and where a beginning of the prefab production could be set. That is

why in the following, the actual location of a building right in the city of Sisimiut,

chosen for the realization of the project, is analyzed and proposed.

Figure 4 – Polaroil service building during construction, Sisimiut/ Photos by Rasmus

Kruse - Nielsen

5.1 History of the chosen building

Nutaaliorfik - Greenland Innovation Centre (See Figure 5) or the old shipyard is a

building with a long history and always has been a part of not only the Sisimiut’s

heart, but the whole country.

According to the history of the building described in the Greenland Innovation

Centre’s webpage, towards the end of the 1920s the Greenlandic government started

to investigate the opportunities for establishing its own shipyard on the West coast of

Greenland. Until then for major repairs, ships had to make the quite risky voyage to

Denmark – risky, because the ships only set off when repairs were absolutely

essential. The actual construction of the building started in 1930, when Sisimiut was

chosen as the place best suited for a shipyard. As the male population of the island

was largely taken up with hunting and fishing, the workers on the building site were

primarily female. On 18 August 1931, the first ship was pulled ashore marking the

“official opening” of the first repair yard on Greenland.

The 1930s and 1940s were busy times at the shipyard, with one building after another

being constructed on the ever-expanding shipyard grounds. In addition to repairs and

the construction of small boats, there was also room for repairing dog-sleds, making

coffins and much more – there was even a smoking house and a hairdresser’s at the

shipyard. Other activities included the manufacture of whale-oil presses, bullet-

making and landing whales.

At the beginning of the 1950s, the present boat hall was built, and the shipyard was

thoroughly renovated. At the end of 2006 Jørn Hansen successfully managed to

recreate the space of the building by the help of the Municipality of Sisimiut, together

with Sanaartornermik Illiniarfik, ARTEK and a few other organizations. It is this hall

that nowadays has the name “Greenland Innovation Centre” and it is the one that has

been chosen for the development of our project for prefab production warehouse in

Greenland. (The Greenland Innovation Centre, 2014)

Figure 5 – Greenland Innovation center – the building chosen for the production

warehouse/ Photo by Iva Romanska

5.2 Reasons for the choice

One of the most important reasons for choosing exactly that building for the

development of a prefab production is its location. It is situated on the harbor of

Sisimiut and therefore it has the perfect easy access for all future transportation and a

possibility for additional proper storage space. From there on one hand all necessary

building materials and equipment would be able to be delivered and on the other hand

all produced elements would be able to reach every other city, village or settlement

around the coast of Greenland. (See Figure 6)

Another reason for chossing exactly this building is its backround and history. It has

always been a place where people were working towards the good of Greenland.

During the years when it was the shipyard many people were educated in mechanics

and ship carpentry. It has helped to create jobs in the country instead of buying ready

products from Denmark or elsewhere in the world. (The Greenland Innovation Centre,

2014) This is why placing exactly there the production warehouse for prefab elements

would continue that idea of contributing Greenland the same way as the old shipyard

and the Innovation Centre did. It would give the country a place where actual

production of building materials/elements will be hapenning and that will create more

jobs for the locals not only in the summer, when normally the construction works take

place, but also in the winter, when the production will keep going in a safe indoor

environment.

The building is still the Greenland Innovation Centre, but unfortunately last years

weren’t the strongest for the centre. Right now they looking for possibilities to switch

the activity of the building and the production warehouse could be just the perfect one

to take over. Since the building itself is owned from Sisimiut Municipality and the

Figure 6 – Location of the production warehouse/ Google maps 2010

idea for the prefab factory could only be beneficial for the town, we hope that the

project has a great opportunity to be further discussed and developed.

Last reason for choosing the Nutaaliorfik's building, but certainly not least, is its

interior. Back from the time of being a shipyard the place is perfect for construction

and assembly of heavy components. It is well equipped with cranes, which could be

excellent for the future fabrication of prefab building elements. When the Innovation

Center took over back in 2006 the place was renovated - painted, fire protected,

insulated and with replaced windows. All the offices were also renovated and

furnished, so there is also space for the administration of the potential company and

its employees.

6. DISCUSSION OF THE PROJECT’S BENEFITS

The entire project can be seen in many different beneficial aspects depending of the

point of view. Overall, it is extremely important that one idea for improvement and

especially in the building sphere, which has been developed from thousands of years,

has to benefit all who will be involved: employees and companies, citizens and the

community. To fulfill that requirement, we have developed our project taking into

account the effect on the environment, the working conditions for the employees, the

quality of the production and overall the society.

6.1 Environment

Nowadays, we simply must think about the environment. We have to design, create

and manage with a minimum impact on the nature. Prefabrication of the building

elements for the type houses in Greenland can significantly reduce the building waste

and improve the situation with its handling. Ordering materials for the production of

the prefab units can simplify the shipping process, because the containers will be

packed with mostly repeating same components planned in advance. Therefore the

unused leftovers can be reduced to a minimum, which demonstrate perfectly the

advantage of the good planning and management.

6.2 Working conditions

Vast improvement of the working conditions for the employees can be another

positive result of the application of the prefab methodology. Working indoor can

provide the workers with healthy and comfortable working environment, away from

the extreme Greenlandic weather. More time spent inside increases the capacity of

finished work and the production of construction units can go whole year round.

6.3 Quality of the production

By the increasing production of ready elements, the quality and the speed are also

increased. An assembly line in a warehouse easily fastens the manufacture process

and therefore the whole building period is more efficient and effective. The quality is

dependable on the appropriate execution of the elements. Since it is in a controlled

off-site construction environment, structural elements such as walls, roofs and floors

are much well insulated and eventual cold bridges and similar are avoided. When it

comes to store those ready units, in cases that they are not needed right away, a proper

storage can be provided on the chosen location. This can save the high quality of the

complete prefab elements and guarantee excellent weatherproof conditions.

6.4 Social aspect

Our project is developed in consideration also with the Greenlandic society. The

construction industry in Greenland is one of the biggest labour markets and provides

works for more than 2000 persons per month in the country. According to (Statistics

Greenland, 2014) in Sisimiut there are more than 5% of unemployment jobseekers.

The prefab factory idea includes improvements for the job market with possibilities

for new professional work positions and for keeping the already existing ones even

during the winter months. The warehouse can provide work not only for carpenters,

but also for people with experience in administration, management, maintenance and

logistics.

7. CONCLUSION

The main agenda of this paper is to contribute the promoting of the sustainable and

innovative solutions in the fields of construction, management and planning. In order

to do so, we had to examine the building process in Greenland and the Greenlandic

Building Regulation that is followed while constructing the type houses. We explored

issues that range from the shipping of the building materials and their storage to the

actual execution and performing of the housing constructions. We can conclude that

building in the arctic climate conditions is an enormous challenge and it definitely

needs special building techniques and methods. The prefabrication methodology fits

perfectly this need of the market, since most of the houses are standardized and lots of

the elements are copied in each one.

The main idea of this project is to improve the planning and organization of the

building in Greenland, which means introducing the production of the prefabricated

elements locally instead of shipping a foreign production. The right choice for a

factory and its location is also essential in order to demonstrate all the benefits that

production in the country can bring to the entire building industry and the people of

Greenland.

8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank our supervisor Martin Kotol for providing us with a great

insight of the Greenlandic building traditions and giving us an inspiration for the

project that we are now pleased to present. Also we would like to thank Rasmus

Kruse-Nielsen from Masanti A/S, who was so kind to share his experience and

knowledge, regarding the first examples of houses built with entirely with

prefabricated wooden elements.

9. REFERENCES

B. L. Bertheussen, H. E. (2010). Renovation of type houses in Greenland for future

demand. DTU Byg and ARTEK.

Grønfeldt - elementer. (n.d.). www.groenfeldt-elementer.dk. Retrieved August 2014,

from http://www.groenfeldt-elementer.dk/

KNR. (2012, January 10). Hus bygget i rekordfart. Noah Mølgaard.

M. Marencokova & L. N. Jensen. (2010). Energy effcicient renovation of standard

houses in Greenland. Kgs. Lyngby: DTU.

Masanti A/S. (n.d.). www.masanti.gl. Retrieved August 2014, from

http://www.masanti.gl/index.php/dk/arkitekt-og-ingenior/arkitekt-og-ingenior-

forside.html

P. Vladykova. (2010). The potential and need for energy saving in standard family

detached and semi-detached wooden houses in arctic Greenland. Elsevier Ltd.

Statistics Greenland. (2014). www.stat.gl/Default.aspx. Retrieved August 2014, from

Statistics Greenland.

The Greenland Innovation Centre. (2014). http://www.greenland-innovation.com/.

Retrieved August 2014