Polar regions are characterized by extreme environmental conditions such as ultra-low temperatures, severe snowstorms, polar days and nights, thick ice sheets, and permafrost. Polar engineering serves as a critical vehicle for scientific research, national strategy, energy transition, and international cooperation. The advancement of polar engineering construction represents a significant endeavor to push the limits of nature. Reviewing the current state and trends of polar engineering construction and establishing a forward-looking cognitive framework hold theoretical, technological, and strategic values. Based on the summary of domestic and international developments and experiences in polar engineering construction, this study identifies key challenges in areas such as engineering adaptability, energy supply, construction efficiency, self-sufficiency, ecological environment, and the supporting systems of standards and regulations. It further outlines development trends including mission-driven expansion and functional diversification, geographical and environmental extension, intelligent and sustainable development, international collaboration and rule-making, as well as extraterrestrial exploration and the extension of human civilization. Building on this, the study proposes a development framework for polar engineering construction. The framework is centered on demand-driven approaches, technology-enabled advancement, green constraints, and collaborative construction, and is supported by pillars such as standards and regulations, talent and organizational structures, digitalization, and data governance. Under the strategic orientation of "grounded in Antarctica, expanding in the Arctic, and engaging internationally," the study elaborates on development goals including supporting cutting-edge scientific research, enabling the attainment of independent and controllable technologies, advancing international demonstrations for carbon control, and promoting the joint establishment and governance of international rules. Additionally, the study recommends proactive actions in macro-level strategy and policy formulation, technology systems and research and development roadmaps, engineering demonstration and infrastructure development, as well as international collaboration and governance standards. These efforts aim to enhance the comprehensive capacity of polar engineering construction and facilitate its evolution from engineering validation to systematic development, thereby establishing it as a key technological cornerstone for the extension of human civilization into broader frontiers.