Editing Foundation (engineering) (section)

{{short description|Lowest and supporting layer of a structure}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Mock foundations for House and Apartment.png|thumb|[[Shallow foundation]]s of a house versus the [[deep foundation]]s of a [[skyscraper]].]]
[[File:Foundation 2.jpg|thumb|Foundation with pipe fixtures coming through the [[Sleeve (construction)|sleeves]]]]

In engineering, a '''foundation''' is the element of a [[structural engineering|structure]] which connects it to the ground or more rarely, water (as with [[Floating building|floating structures]]), transferring [[force|loads]] from the structure to the ground. Foundations are generally considered either [[Shallow foundation|shallow]] or [[Deep foundation|deep]].<ref>{{citation |last1=Terzaghi |first1=Karl |author1-link=Karl von Terzaghi |last2=Peck |first2=Ralph Brazelton |author2-link=Ralph Brazelton Peck |last3=Mesri |first3=Gholamreza |edition=3rd |title=Soil mechanics in engineering practice |date=1996 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=New York |isbn=0-471-08658-4 |page=386 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bAwVvO71FXoC}}</ref>  Foundation engineering is the application of [[soil mechanics]] and [[rock mechanics]] ([[geotechnical engineering]]) in the design of foundation elements of structures.