The paper presents a new macroelement model for shallow foundations. The
model is defined through a non-linear constitutive law written in terms of some
generalized force and displacement parameters. The linear part of this
constitutive law comes from the dynamic impedances of the foundation. The
non-linear part comprises two mechanisms. One is due to the irreversible
elastoplastic soil behavior: it is described with a bounding surface
hypoplastic model, adapted for the description of the cyclic soil response. An
original feature of the formulation is that the bounding surface is considered
independently of the surface of ultimate loads of the system. The second
mechanism is the detachment that can take place at the soil-footing interface
(foundation uplift). It is totally reversible and non-dissipative and can thus
be described by a phenomenological non-linear elastic model. The macroelement
is qualitatively validated by application to soil-structure interaction
analyses of simple real structures