ABSTRACT
In Switzerland piles are frequently used in foundation engineering. The main reasons are the following: the general scarcity of building land and therefore the need to construct new buildings often on soils with unfavourable conditions, the increase in building loads, the application of the popular top-down construction method and the availability of efficient and competitive piling systems. Thus, already twenty years ago a national code for pile foundations appeared. It has been revised recently and is the most important basis for this national report.
