superstructure
What foundations support
Superstructure is what rises above a foundation or base.
On a ship, the superstructure is everything built above the main deck—the bridge, cabins, and funnels.
In construction, it's the part of a building above ground level, as opposed to the foundation.
In Marxist theory, the superstructure comprises the cultural, political, and ideological institutions that rest on the economic base: Religion and law are part of the superstructure.
Internal supportive framework
- frameworkUnderlying support system
- girderMain structural support beam
- beamStructural support member
- trussLoad-bearing beam arrangement
column · support · steel · load-bearing · cantilever · bracing · crossbeam · joist
Large impressive building
- buildingEnclosed roofed structure
- towerTall slender edifice
- skyscraperVery tall urban building
- high-riseMultistory tall building
dome · facade · elevation · landmark · monument · deck · bridge · hull
Ship's flat surface
- hullOuter covering or frame
- mastVessel's sail support
- funnelCone directing flow
- bridgeStructure spanning an obstacle
cabin · wheelhouse · bulwark · railing · lifeboat · davit · crow's-nest · smokestack
Structured belief framework
- baseSupporting bottom structure
- relationsConnections or dealings
- productionMaking or generating something
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
proletariat · capitalism · hegemony · class · consciousness · dialectic · materialism · Gramsci
Structured group with purpose
- bureaucracyRigid administrative system
- managementOrganizing and directing resources
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
- top-levelHighest in rank
oversight · governance · command · authority · executive · leadership · institutional · systemic
skeleton
Internal supportive framework
truss · column · support · steel · load-bearing · cantilever · bracing · crossbeam · joist · strut
edifice
Large impressive building
- buildingEnclosed roofed structure
- towerTall slender edifice
- skyscraperVery tall urban building
high-rise · dome · facade · elevation · landmark · monument · deck · bridge · hull · ship
deck
Ship's flat surface
bridge · cabin · wheelhouse · bulwark · railing · lifeboat · davit · crow's-nest · smokestack · ventilator
ideology
Structured belief framework
- baseSupporting bottom structure
- relationsConnections or dealings
- productionMaking or generating something
bourgeoisie · proletariat · capitalism · hegemony · class · consciousness · dialectic · materialism · Gramsci · Althusser
organization
Structured group with purpose
- bureaucracyRigid administrative system
- managementOrganizing and directing resources
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
top-level · oversight · governance · command · authority · executive · leadership · institutional · systemic · apparatus
- railway tracksrails, steel rails, track bed, rail bed, railbed
- ship partshull, keel, deck, mast, bow
- structural supportsbeams, posts, columns, scaffold, girders
- warshipsbattleship, turret, frigates, battleships, destroyers
- megastructuresDyson sphere, space habitat, space elevator, arcologies, arcology
- critical theorydeconstruction, Marxism, feminism, simulacrum, postcolonialism
superstructurefoundation
Underlying support structure
substructure · base · groundwork · underpinning · footing
superstructurebase
Supporting bottom structure
infrastructure · means of production · economic foundation · premise