Brick-infilled vierendeel girders as foundation for low-lying, low bearing-capacity soil terrain

The scarcity of land prevalent in urban areas calls for utilisation of available low-lying terrains outside metropolis. These low-lying terrains require filling with selected earth. Normally, shallow foundation is a suitable option for low-rise residential buildings. If the fill warrants a depth of more than 2 m, adoption of shallow foundation is an arduous task. The problem gets worse if the virgin soil has poor bearing capacity. Suitability of various types of shallow foundation in landfill areas is discussed in this paper. A practical example is also presented involving adoption of brick-infilled vierendeel girder foundation system in a landfill terrain. This system proved to be superior in strength and stiffness characteristics.