Ground and structure
Basement
parkingoffice buildinghospitalmuseumretail
It is a level built totally or partly below ground. It can house parking, storage, plant rooms or living spaces.
What it solves
It adds area without taking up more land or raising the height and takes advantage of the more stable temperature of the ground. It requires dealing with groundwater, earth pressure and ventilation.
Today
Study the soil and the groundwater level before deciding on a basement and plan drainage, waterproofing and pumping. Give it light and air with sunken courtyards or shafts.
Common mistake
Excavating a basement without a soil study or drainage, which ends in leaks, mold and pumps running all year.
Tomorrow
In cities with heavier rain the basement can house tanks that hold back rain instead of simply flooding. Designed with height and light, it can stop being a parking lot and become a communal storeroom, a workshop or a cool space.
Where it comes from
- 1Phrygians and Byzantines Derinkuyu, Cappadocia, Turkey, from the 8th century BC to the 12th century
A city excavated on several levels down to about 85 meters deep, with ventilation shafts, stables, storerooms and kitchens. - 2Traditional Iranian house Iran, of diffuse origin
The shabestan is an underground space for spending the summer. A wind tower ventilates it with air that cools as it passes over an underground water channel.
Masters
- Tadao Ando Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima, Japan, 2004
He buries the museum in the hill to reduce its impact on the island’s landscape. He lights it with daylight that changes during the day and shows that underground there can also be calm and light.
See also
Also in Ground and structure
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.