Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

«This would end up being a theme, where buildings representing Denmark were made out of lots of wood, almost to ensure that you understood they weren't from here.»

Wooden buildings is much more of a Swedish or Norwegian thing than Danish. Wood is just a good material for building in the arctic.

Why is it a good material? I would think steel or reinforced concrete would be better, with cheap corrugated metal paneling. And either way you need reinforced concrete foundations right?

Certainly for Sweden and Norway, wood is very plentiful, and a good insulator. I don't know if steel would technically be better, but historically at least it would have been harder to get hold of.

Wood is a much better insulator than those two materials. At cold temps even the fasteners holding on cladding over foam sheets is a significant source of lost heat, so if screwed into wood instead of steel framing, you conduct much less heat.

hence, "Norwegian wood"?

Can’t you put some insulation on fasteners? Or just hold insulation on from the inside without piercing the outside wall?

I considered using metal framing for my house. The contractor told me that would be a mistake, as metal attracted condensation. I decided that following his advice would be a good idea.

Obviously there are various schemes to mitigate (not eliminate) this loss and others. It all takes expertise and money, both of which will be in short supply.

Also it's not like Greenland has an excess of concrete or steel either.