AbstractThe distortions of earthquake ground motions recorded in small instrument shelters as a result of soil‐structure interaction effects are investigated by means of a theoretical parametric study. A total of 12 foundation geometries varying in basal radius, embedment depth and extension above the ground surface and a number of soil profiles including uniform and layered soil models were considered. The results obtained show significant amplification and deamplification of the free‐field ground motion for sufficiently soft soils (β20