stilts

Stilts are poles, posts or pillars used to allow a structure or building to stand at a distance above the ground or water. In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, waves or shifting soil or sand. As these issues were commonly faced by many societies around the world, stilts have become synonymous with various places and cultures, particularly in South East Asia and Venice. Stilt house Stilts are a common architectural element in tropical architecture, especially in Southeast Asia and South America, but can be found worldwide. Stilts also have a large prominence in Oceania and Europe as well as the Arctic, where the stilts elevate houses above the permafrost. The length of stilts may vary widely; stilts of traditional houses can be measured from half a meter to 5 or 6 meters. Stilt houses have been used for millennia, with evidence in the European Alps that stilt houses were constructed on a lake over 6000 years ago and Herodotus making reference to stilt housing on lakes in Paeonia. Settlements primarily composed of stilt housing are common in Micronesia and in Oceania. Stilt homes in South America date back to Pre-Columbian times, with early explorers such as Vespucci noting the houses built on stilts by the local people whilst exploring, consequently giving the area the name Venezuela, or “Little Venice”. In the 18th Century, Jesuit João Daniel noted “Many nations live on lakes, or among them, where they have, over the water, their houses made of the same sort, only with the amend of being out of hay, that they erect with poles, and palm tree branches, and in them they live joyfully, like fish in the water” whilst travelling in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. On the island of Chiloé, modern dwellers have incorporated stilts into house design due to local seismic activity causing tides up to 7 metres in height.