pilotis

Pilotis are vertical supporting columns that lift a building above the ground, creating an open space beneath and allowing the ground level to be used for circulation, landscaping, or parking. The term comes from French and is used in architectural discourse to describe this structural device that elevates the structure.

The concept gained prominence with modernist architecture, and it was formalized by Le Corbusier as one of the Five Points of Architecture in the 1920s. In this framework, buildings rest on pilotis, enabling a free floor plan and a free facade, while a roof garden completes the composition. Pilotis are typically slender reinforced concrete or steel columns arranged in a regular grid that bear the building’s loads and transfer them to the foundation.

Benefits of using pilotis include reducing ground contact to limit moisture transfer, enabling open or landscaped ground planes, improving air circulation and light, and providing space beneath for parking or outdoor use. Aesthetically, they give upper floors a lighter, floating appearance and can influence the organization of surrounding outdoor spaces.

Limitations and considerations include the need for robust structural design to handle vertical and lateral loads, potential maintenance of exposed base connections, and suitability concerns related to climate, flood risk, or local building codes. While not universal, the pilotis concept remains influential in contemporary architecture as a means to separate the building from the ground and to shape both form and urbanism, as seen in Le Corbusier’s projects and many modernist structures.