BIM’s core principle is informatization, which facilitates information sharing and collaboration among all parties throughout the entire project lifecycle, effectively addressing the issue of “information silos.” However, since construction projects typically involve multiple disciplines and fields, each using different BIM software, information exchange often suffers due to incompatible data formats. This results in low efficiency during BIM application. To overcome this challenge, a unified exchange standard is essential. The IFC standard emerged in response and remains the most widely accepted and used BIM information exchange standard today.
The IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) standard is an international protocol for exchanging building information model data, published by the Building SMART Alliance. It aims to enable seamless information sharing, exchange, and collaboration across different software platforms used by various disciplines at different stages of a building’s lifecycle. The IFC framework specifies how to describe and define diverse types of construction-related information, covering not only physical elements like building components but also abstract entities such as spaces, organizations, relationships, and processes.
The IFC standard’s structure is organized into four hierarchical layers, from bottom to top: the resource layer, core layer, interaction layer, and domain layer. Each layer can only reference resources from the level below it, ensuring the stability and integrity of information.
The resource layer forms the foundation, defining general construction project data such as geometry, materials, quantities, time, and costs. This basic information supports the description of data and connects to upper layers to define attributes of higher-level entities. The core layer integrates information from the resource layer to create a cohesive framework. It outlines the fundamental architecture and abstract concepts of the IFC object model, divided into two parts: the basic core and core extensions. The basic core includes essential concepts like participants, groups, processes, products, and controls, which support defining higher-level entities. The core extensions expand on these, covering control, product, and process extensions, and define abstract ideas such as space, site, components, and floors.
The interaction layer primarily serves the domain layer by defining shared concepts and objects across different fields and specialties, enabling interoperability and information exchange between disciplines. At the top, the domain layer specifies entity concepts tailored to various professional fields, including architecture, structural engineering, mechanical and electrical systems, among nine other specialties.
In summary, the IFC standard facilitates vertical information exchange across different project lifecycle stages and horizontal information sharing among various professions and departments. The IFC protocol, based on this standard, supports data exchange between different subsystems, providing a robust foundation for storing, sharing, interacting with, utilizing, and managing all information throughout the construction project process.
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