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[1].
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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 Denmark[2]. 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[3]. 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"[4].
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 Qinngorput[5]. 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.
The northern end of the house is decorated with the biggest known Greenlandic flag. The flag, which consists of discarded articles of clothing, was sewn by a local artist with the help of schoolchildren[6].
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