Challenges of Building in Greenland
Building in Greenland presents several challenges due to the country’s limited building space and challenging climate. Most of the land surface is rocky or covered in snow and ice, and the weather can fluctuate from -20°C to +10°C in a 24-hour period, resulting in large amounts of ice and meltwater. Additionally, winter is characterised by many storms and heavy snowfall. All building materials must be stored indoors, as the large climate fluctuations can damage them.
Furthermore, all materials used in a construction project must be transported to Greenland by ship, which takes 10 days, and cargo damage during transportation is common.
The Element’s approach
To address these challenges, The Element has a factory that produces prefabricated concrete elements that are transported to the construction site and assembled into the building on-site. To make production independent of the weather, as much of the building as possible is made in the factory.
Peter has made a strategic investment in an FP1200 with an inliner to optimize the production process and achieve self-sufficiency in concrete production. This investment has enabled The Element to produce high-quality concrete elements in-house, thereby reducing dependence on external suppliers.
The future
However, Peter’s vision goes beyond just producing regular concrete elements. He also plans to produce foam concrete, which can be used as a replacement for insulation material in cavity walls, ceilings, and floors. By incorporating this eco-friendly and energy-efficient material into their product line, The Element can offer their customers a more sustainable building solution while reducing their carbon footprint.
Foam concrete is ideal for construction in Greenland because it is not affected by temperature and humidity changes like wood.
The company is testing different types of foam concrete in collaboration with Fibo Intercon to find the optimum type for their buildings. For this project, Fibo has developed an add-on box to the mixer which makes it possible to produce both concrete and foam concrete in the same mixer.
