Naja is a researcher in Arctic construction: We need to build better

‘Do you want to go to Greenland and do research?

Naja Kastrup Friis is 32 years old and has written a PhD on better and more robust construction in the Arctic, which she defended in November 2023. She is now a postdoc at the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby.

We’ll get back to her research in a moment because, despite her name, Naja Kastrup Friis had only been to Greenland once before she started researching Arctic construction. It was a bit of a coincidence that she started doing it at all because she never imagined doing a PhD – not until the day she came across a job advert that read:

‘Do you want to go to Greenland and do research?

“Oh, yes! That’s what I’m going to do,” thought Naja Kastrup Friis, who has a degree in building design from the Technical University of Denmark. “I never thought I’d write a PhD… who does that?” She laughs out loud.

“We spend a lot of our time indoors, so it’s essential that we live comfy,”
– Naja Kastrup Friis.

Curious in Nuuk

When she was 15, she went on a hiking holiday to Kangerlussuaq because her stepfather had traveled a lot in Greenland. Now, Naja suddenly had the opportunity to go again if she was hired for the research position.

“I had no idea how to build in Greenland and exactly what the challenges are. What does the climate mean? What do culture and history mean, and what are the construction trends? I sought answers to these questions by traveling to Nuuk. I tried to understand. And I was very focused on being curious,” she says.

Many challenges in Arctic construction

She soon learned more about these questions as she stood among the capital’s many newly built tower blocks to explore how we can build better in the future.

“It really didn’t take long for me to realize that there are many challenges in the construction industry.

And it’s actually quite ambitious to build in the Arctic in general,” she says.

“If the building envelope, i.e., the part of the building facing the outside climate, is not tight and properly insulated, we get cold surfaces inside. Cold surfaces are uncomfortable. They also create draughts and the risk of condensation, which creates the risk of mould. We see a lot of mould in Greenland, which is actually surprising because the climate is very dry.”

Mold can occur when moisture enters a building. The problem is that it’s warmer inside than outside, and since warm air can hold more moisture than cold air, water can condense the wall. This can lead to mold and rot.

To find out what works, Naja wanted to investigate whether some of the materials used in construction – such as concrete and wood – are even suitable for a Greenlandic climate.

“I never thought I’d write a PhD… who does that?”
– Naja Kastrup Friis

Large windows and cold surfaces inside

Her research showed that concrete itself is suitable. However, the design of the building determines how suitable it is for living in.

“It’s like that everywhere. But the climate in Greenland shows in a super short time whether the building is done well or not,” she says.

“In fact, facades are a huge problem in some of the new buildings.”

The reason it’s a bit technical is because it’s about a wind barrier. It needs to be installed inside the exterior wall to prevent cold wind from penetrating the insulation.

“But then someone realized that if we put solid insulation on top of concrete, we don’t need a wind barrier. The idea is to save on labor and material. The consequence is that the outer walls get cold if it’s not done correctly. It can be uncomfortable and cause a large heat loss,” says Naja Kastrup Friis.

“It’s a real shame to throw away a wind barrier because then there’s a risk of ending up with a building where there are no happy residents. And it’s really defining for our well-being that we have a nice place to live.”

“I came with my curiosity, but there are also people who are a little tired of Danish curiosity,”
– Naja Kastrup Friis

The easy solution that’s not so easy after all

“It’s simply about designing something that’s easy to build. There can be standard window sizes that are easy to find in a regular DIY store. This makes the building easier to maintain and avoid mistakes,” concludes Naja Kastrup Friis.

“Triangular windows may be cool, but you can’t buy them in a regular DIY store and it takes a long time to transport them by ship.”/ ship them?

“If you don’t repair damage or faults, moisture can get in. Time is a factor. It’s about expanding the building stock and not just replacing what doesn’t work anymore.”

It sounds simple enough to use standard sizes in construction and repair quickly when something breaks. But is it?

“Maybe, but we are several cultures, nationalities, and languages working together. It’s about creating guidelines for who speaks which language and who understands what in what way?”

Are there a lot of construction errors?

“Yes, there are construction defects, and they vary in size.”

Danish curiosity

So, the solution is not just about windbreaks and insulation. It’s also about language and culture, and Naja herself discovered that it can be difficult to mingle during her field studies in Nuuk and Sisimiut.

“I came with my curiosity, but there are also people who are a little tired of Danish curiosity. So, it’s also a task to be human, and I just tried not to take it personally when it was meant professionally. It wasn’t about me. We are facing a climate crisis, and we have no idea what conditions we will be building under in the next 10, 20, or 50 years. So we need to gather experience, not only in the Arctic but also in other parts of the world where the climate is changing drastically,” she says.