superstructure

Noun

1. Any structure built above the top full deck (FM 55-501).
2. Any material structure or edifice built on something else; that which is raised on a foundation or basis.
   • The Wards are open-topped, with skyscrapers rising from the superstructure. Towers are sealed against vacuum, as the breathable atmosphere envelope is only maintained to a height of about seven meters. The atmosphere is...
3. All that part of a building above the basement.
4. The sleepers and fastenings, in distinction from the roadbed.
5. The social sphere of ideology which includes religion, art, politics, law and all traditional values.
   • The superstructure evolves more slowly and is more resistant to change than the economic infrastructure, especially in the modern industrial age of advanced capitalism. - 1995, Richard Appignanesi, Chris Garratt,...

   Antonyms: base infrastructure substructure