During the design process of a building, several aspects have to be taken into consideration: static and variable loads, environmental conditions, accidental situations and the evolution of these along the time. An aspect that often is underestimated is the relation between the structure and the ground beneath it, the so-called soil-structure interaction (SSI). The objective of this study is to understand the theory behind the problem and find a methodology to simulate it numerically on a finite element software in order to evaluate the sliding and the uplift of a structure. The core of the study is the modelling of the interface between the soil and the structure.