Superstructure

[soo-per-struhk-cher] /ˈsu pərˌstrʌk tʃər/
noun
1.
the part of a building or construction entirely above its foundation or basement.
2.
any structure built on something else.
3.
the overlying framework or features of an organization, institution, or system, built or superimposed on a more fundamental base.
4.
Nautical. any construction built above the main deck of a vessel as an upward continuation of the sides.
Compare deckhouse.
5.
the part of a bridge that rests on the piers and abutments.
6.
anything based on or rising from some foundation or basis:
a complex ideological superstructure based on two hypotheses.
superstructure
/ˈsuːpəˌstrʌktʃə/
noun
1.
the part of a building above its foundation
2.
any structure or concept erected on something else
3.
(nautical) any structure above the main deck of a ship with sides flush with the sides of the hull
4.
the part of a bridge supported by the piers and abutments
5.
(in Marxist theory) an edifice of interdependent agencies of the state, including legal and political institutions and ideologies, each possessing some autonomy but remaining products of the dominant mode of economic production

superstructure su·per·struc·ture (sōō’pər-strŭk’chər)
n.
A structure above the surface.