The development of a typology for remote construction projects

Remotely located sites have become more accessible and therefore more valuable and profitable to investors and entrepreneurs. Typically these sites are environmentally sensitive. For the designer, these sites offer a unique challenge conceptually, in terms of the physical and cultural constraints. The built environment research community has yet to seriously take up the challenge of developing theoretical models for the management of the design and construction processes for remotely located projects. Such models would explore efficiency and efficacy management for projects in remote and often hostile areas, in an integrated and sustainable manner. There are varying degrees of remoteness experienced in nearly all construction projects and therefore a clearer definition of the characteristics of remote sites is required. Towards this definition, a typology is initiated for the concept of remotely located construction projects related to environmental sustainability and the management of the design process. The characteristics of the typology are drawn from a selected literature review of the fields of design management and environmental sustainability, and from an exploratory investigation of two case studies.