Stilt house

Uncommon card · No. 190695

Stilt houses (also known as pile or lake dwellings) are freestanding residential buildings (houses) whose main structure is held elevated above the ground or water body like a pier by thin pillars known as stilts. They are primarily built to protect against flooding; and to keep out vermin on the ground. The shaded area beneath the house, when the ground is not inundated, is often used as an undercroft for work, storage or parking. Such dwellings are common across coastal/riparian zones of Southeast Asia, Oceania, Central America, the Caribbean, parts of coastal West Africa, northern parts of South America, the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Stilt apartments are low-rise apartment buildings that are built on the same off-the-ground concept as stilt houses, although the undercroft area is typically designed to provide covered residential parking spaces for the tenants rather than for flood protection.

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