Ground and structure
Platform
housingtempleplazapublic building
It is a base of earth, stone or concrete that raises the floor of the building above the natural ground.
What it solves
It keeps the floor away from moisture, mud and floods. It organizes the terrain and gives the building a firm, visible place for gathering.
Today
Raise the floor above known flood levels and drain the whole perimeter. Compact the fill in layers and protect the edges from erosion.
Common mistake
Filling with loose, uncompacted soil, which later settles and cracks floors and walls.
Tomorrow
The platform can hold the rainwater tank inside and finish its edges with gravel that infiltrates whatever the roof does not collect. Moving only the necessary earth protects the living soil of the lot.
Where it comes from
- 1Early Maya, Aguada Fénix Tabasco, Mexico, 1000 to 800 BC
An earth and clay platform about 1400 meters long and 400 wide, built up in layers. - 2Guayabo de Turrialba Costa Rica, 1000 BC to 1400 AD
Mounds with a circular base faced with stone, up to 30 meters in diameter, supported conical timber houses. - 3Maya cities Mesoamerica, pre-Hispanic period
Temples and palaces rose on multi-level platforms faced with stucco.
Masters
- Jørn Utzon Sydney Opera House, Australia, 1973
He sets the roof shells on a large platform that works as a plaza and pedestrian promenade facing the bay. The base raises the visitor and orders everything that happens above.
Appears in the routes
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.