Types of construction
The term ‘construction’ refers to the process of building something such as a house, bridge, tunnel and so on. This may involve new developments, alterations to existing developments, demolition and other activities carried out by building contractors.
There are many different ways of classifying types of construction, including:
- Purpose (demolition, rebuilding, alterations of or additions etc). For more information see: Construction
- Sector (civil engineering, commercial, residential, healthcare etc).
- Structure (timber frame, masonry, fabric structure etc). For more information see: Types of structure.
- Element (wall, roof, tunnel, foundation etc).
- Type of building (dwelling, office, skyscraper etc). For more information see: Types of building.
- Type of contractor (self build, management contractor, construction manager etc). For more information see: Types of contractor.
- Construction technique (kit, modular, prefabricated, in-situ etc).
- Procurement route (design and build, traditional, measurement etc). For more information see: Procurement routes.
- Type of development (Crown build, build to rent, specualtive, bespoke, built to suit etc). For more information see: Types of development.
- Historic period (Roman, Greek, modern etc). For more information see: Style
- Style (brutalist, postmodern, classical etc). For more information see: Style
- Technology (smart, green, low-tech, hi-tech etc).
- Form of contract (JCT, FIDIC, NEC etc).
- Specialism (services, ICT, cladding etc).
- Funding (public, private, public private partnership etc).
- Performance (fire resisting, insulating, sound absorbing etc).
- Health and safety (notifiable, not notifiable).
- Client (experienced, inexperienced, repeat etc).
- Degree of complexity (simple, complex, bespoke etc).
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles and news
Cyber Security in the Built Environment
Protecting projects, data, and digital assets: CIOB Academy.
The UK's campaign to reduce noise pollution: Mythbusting, articles and topic guides.
Setting Expectations on Competence Management
Industry Competence Committee.
New Scottish and Welsh governments
CIOB stresses importance of construction after new parliament elections.
The sad story of Derby Hippodrome
An historic building left to decay.
ECA, JIB and JTL back Fabian Society call to invest in skills for a stronger built environment workforce.
Women's Contributions to the Built Environment.
Calls for the delayed Circular Economy Strategy
Over 50 leading businesses, trade associations and professional bodies, including CIAT, and UKGBC sign open letter.
The future workforce: culture change and skill
Under the spotlight at UK Construction Week London.
A landmark moment for postmodern heritage.
A safe energy transition – ECA launches a new Charter
Practical policy actions to speed up low carbon adoption while maintaining installation safety and competency.
Frank Duffy: Researcher and Practitioner
Reflections on achievements and relevance to the wider research and practice communities.
The 2026 Compliance Landscape: Fire doors
Why 'Business as Usual' is a Liability.
Cutting construction carbon footprint by caring for soil
Is construction neglecting one of the planet’s most powerful carbon stores and one of our greatest natural climate allies.
ARCHITECTURE: How's it progressing?
Archiblogger posing questions of a historical and contextual nature.