Today, I want to discuss the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) and the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). IAI aims to promote global information sharing in building and equipment management by providing standardized processes and defining industry infrastructure categories. This facilitates the exchange of internal information throughout the entire building lifecycle, reducing time and improving quality.
The development of IAI began in 1994 when 12 American companies explored the potential for collaborative work across different application software. They concluded that such collaboration was feasible and could bring significant economic benefits. After solving a core issue in 1995, they presented their findings at a seminar on building engineering systems, introducing a set of information exchange formats known as IFC.
The IFC format established a standard data structure, allowing different software to exchange information seamlessly without needing to create separate interfaces. This innovation attracted strong interest from many organizations eager to participate and collaborate. Consequently, the group decided to open membership to external organizations in construction engineering and equipment management, as well as to all software developers. In October of the same year, the IAI organization was founded in North America.
IAI members soon recognized that this challenge was global in nature and began promoting software collaboration internationally. Branches of IAI quickly appeared in other countries. The first IAI International Conference took place in London in 1996, and in 1997, IAI released the initial version of the IFC standard, IFC 1.0.
The scope of IFC 1.0’s information standardization covers four main areas: architecture, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), construction management, and facilities operation and management. It was clearly defined that IFC standards are not limited to data structures for a single application but are designed to be cross-platform and cross-disciplinary, covering design, construction, architecture, management, and maintenance.
Later developments, such as IFC 1.5, integrated this standard into commercial CAD software, opening the door to the engineering design market. Currently, the IFC information structure has evolved to version IFC 2.0, with various extension modules available, including the IFC 2.0 Extension. The latest release is 2×3 Final.
The IFC standards accommodate multiple professional fields with the greatest coverage in architecture, followed by building management, material storage, operation and maintenance, valuation and contracting, and HVAC analysis. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are currently the least represented, but integrating GIS into IFC has become a key focus area promoted by IAI in recent years.
IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is a modeling language primarily used in architecture, construction engineering, and equipment management. Its goal is to ensure that various software applications in these fields use a consistent data format, providing a standard for information exchange across different BIM systems.
IFC is based on object-oriented principles and references some STEP standards. For practical implementation, it also incorporates features from object-oriented programming, particularly from the C language. Architecturally, IFC is organized into four layers, from top to bottom: Domain Layer, Interoperability Layer, Core Layer, and Resource Layer. Each layer defines different data types and entities.
For a detailed explanation of these four layers, please refer to my previous article, Introduction to the Four Levels of IFC.
That concludes today’s overview of IAI and IFC. I hope you found this information helpful.
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