Foundation and it's importance

 FOUNDATION AND ITS IMPORTANCE

    Foundation is the most important member of any structure since the entire structure rests on the foundation and it is responsible for transferring the entire load of the structure down into the soil. 

The foundation makes up the substructure of any building meaning it is a member below the soil whereas the member above the soil is called Superstructure. Furthermore, the foundation is supported by another member called Footing. 

The footing serves as an important asset to the foundation as it helps direct the load evenly in the soil. Raw soil in itself is not strong enough to take the load from the foundation reason being its uneven nature. Therefore it is not capable of providing enough opposing force for the incoming load ( according to newton's third law of motion ) hence putting the structure at great risk of sinking into the soil. Footing transfers the load over a large area so that the pressure does not exceed its allowable bearing capacity.