One part of the building's foundation was made of concrete piles, and the other as a continuous foundation.

For continuous foundations:

Prudent homeowners build their houses on continuous foundations rather than rest them on pier blocks from which they can be bucked when the big shake comes.

In many instances preservative-treated posts or isolated concrete piers embedded directly in the ground serve as the foundation for the post-frame system, eliminating the expense and time of pouring a continuous foundation.

At the base of this massive building was the alleged largest continuous foundation in the United States from the time it was built until it was surpassed by the Pentagon when it was constructed in 1943.

The lowest plate rails of walls (usually called "mudsills" or "foundation sills" in North America) are bolted to a continuous foundation, or secured with rigid metal connectors bolted to the foundation so as to resist side-to-side forces.