In engineering, the art of using the foundation of a building is to transmit its weight to the ground. The foundation is responsible for distributing the load from the building's superstructure evenly onto the underlying soil or rock, ensuring stability, and preventing settlement or structural failure. Various foundation types, such as shallow foundations (e.g., footings) or deep foundations (e.g., piles), are utilized depending on the site conditions and building requirements to efficiently transfer the building's weight to the ground.
In engineering, the part of a building that is responsible for transmitting its weight to the ground is called the foundation. The foundation is typically designed to distribute the building loads evenly onto the underlying soil or rock to prevent settling or structural failure. There are several types of foundations, including shallow foundations (such as spread footings, mat foundations, and slab-on-grade) and deep foundations (such as pile foundations and caissons), which are chosen based on the characteristics of the soil, the building design, and the loads to be supported.
