Cost-Saving Compensated-Foundation Design of an Office Building

Abstract

Geotechnical engineers have reported that, in the foundation design of buildings with a deep basement, the weight of the soil removed for basement construction could be discounted from the foundation load. Substantial savings were achieved for a 22-story office building with a 2-level basement, for which the design of the pile foundation utilized this concept of compensated foundation. Subsequent site monitoring of selected column settlements showed that the total and differential settlements, angular distortion, and deflection ratio of the building were well within the allowable limits. Detailed information on the compensated foundation design is presented.