A piloti is a particular type of thin column that supports a building by lifting the building over the ground plane. A building constructed with pilotis will be visually mild and possess a transient quality, because the pilotis lift the primary architectural form, allowing an open ground level. In a sense the building apparently hovers over the landscape.
Pilotis employed in a home’s illustration is at the Villa Savoye near Paris. The main volume of the home is lifted up and off the ground, allowing a vehicle to pass below.
Elliott + Elliott Architecture
Not just for dry soil, pilotis are also used to lift a home over a body of water. This usage has been around for centuries; it’s a frequent building practice for native peoples living at a water’s edge.
Castanes Architects PS
Since pilotis provide points of aid in lieu of larger linear systems, their use as a basis for a house makes certain that the construction has the least influence on the present terrain. The house simply and gently touches the ground in a few spots just.
Cary Bernstein Architect
While pilotis are generally arrayed in a regular grid layout to create an efficient structure, they don’t have to be. The pilotis can blend with a surrounding woodland, as an example, and fade to the overall pattern of tree trunks and branches.