ABSTRACT
For centuries wooden foundations were used to support buildings in areas with weak soils. Despite of these instable building grounds, estuaries, riverbeds and some of the peat lands were an attractive habitat because of their strategic positions. The first settlements with small and light houses relay on soil improvements with closely spaced short piles. As in time the dimensions and the weight of the buildings increased, also the construction and the stability of the foundation changed. Presently wooden pile foundations can be seen all over the world supporting many historical constructions like the old city center of Venice near the Adriatic sea and river Po, the Indian Taj Mahal built in 1631 and the 370 years old Royal Palace on the Dam square in Amsterdam and more common constructions like family houses in several Western Dutch cities and in high populated Asian areas like Tokyo and Nagasaki or industrial buildings like the Speicher city of Hamburg or a sugar factory in Leeuwarden.
