Development of a new base isolation system using the concept of metamaterials

•The concept of metamaterials is integrated with the base isolation system.•A two-dimensional periodic foundation for ultra-low and wide frequency band gap is proposed.•The two-dimensional periodic foundation utilizes local resonance and Bragg scattering to aid seismic wave manipulation.•Experimental testing on the scaled-down foundation shows an average of 50 % attenuation in the bandgap (i.e., 2.54 Hz to 8.08 Hz).•Theoretical results demonstrate that the full-scale proposed periodic foundation would be able to achieve a band gap that covers frequencies from as low as 0.3 Hz to 7.35 Hz.