A review of Model Uncertainties in Foundation Design

This extended review addresses the issue of uncertainty-based design of shallow, deep, and special foundations with specific reference to the book "Model Uncertainties in Foundation Design" by Chong Tang and Kok-Kwang Phoon. The paper provides insights into the main concepts addressed in the book; namely: (1) a critical review of the development of the geotechnical engineering discipline from the primordial deterministic paradigm to evolutionary non-deterministic and data-centric paradigms; (2) an insight into uncertainty-based foundation design methods; (3) an evaluation of existing and new databases of model statistics.