Construction industry: Buildings and Infrastructure
Construction industry: Components and Transportation
Construction industry: Financing and Regulation
In total number of units built, residential housing outstrips all other buildings in the modern world. The specialized character of home building means that such construction is financed and managed differently fromthe rest of the construction industry. In the twentieth century, government involvement in the nature and location of such building has increased substantially.
In addition to homes, people need a wide variety of shops and buildings, including offices, factories, warehouses, apartment buildings, and hotels. While some home building may still be done on a do-it-yourself basis, all large-scale construction has come to require diverse and sophisticated components assembled by specialized craftspeople. The financing of such large buildings is also necessarily far more complex, and these buildings are subject to government regulation as to both quality and location.
In addition to large commercial and governmental buildings, modern society also requires roads, airports, dams, canals, ports, locks, and irrigation systems. Although there is some private funding of these infrastructure projects, the great majority are built with public or government financing. As society has grown more complex, so have the demands on architects and civil engineers to produce this infrastructure.
New Residential Construction, 1980-2005
As construction has moved from the simple to the complex, demand has increased for a far wider range of building materials. No longer does the building industry count on timber from naturally occurring forests; instead, vast tree farms have been created to supply society’s demand for lumber. Mining and quarrying operations are more complex and involve clay, stones, gravel, and metallic ores. Glass, plastics, adhesives, metallic foils, and manufactured woods are all critical parts of sophisticated modern buildings and other construction projects.
