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IDMIndex

Outline

ThefollowingoutlinestheuseofentitiesalreadywithinIFCthatareofinterestinIFGandidentifies
someofthenewcapabilitythathasbeenadded.

BuildingsandSpaces

IFCusesaspatialstructurearrangementfororganizinginformationaccordingtospatial
arrangements.Boththeideaofabuildingandaspacearecapturedwithinthishierarchy(together
withbuildingstoreyandsite).Alloftheseideasarerelevanttogeographicinformationcaptureeither
directlyorbyextensionofthecurrentIFCconcept:

Building(alsobuildingcomplexandbuildingsection)isusedtoidentifybuildings(andother
structureswithinamappedregion.Buildingscanbeidentifiedaccordingtotheir:
typetoindicatethepurposeofthebuilding(orotherstructure),
statusincludingwhetherplanningisproposedorapprovedorwhetherthebuildinghasbeen
constructed(includingahistoryofplanningapplications)
agethroughtheprovisionofdate/timeinformation(alsoallowingnegativedatesfor
archaeologicalartifacts).
footprintofthebuildingontotheground

Space(alsopartialspace)which,notonlyidentifiesinternalspacewithinabuilding,butcanalso
beextendedtoidentifyexternalspacesrequiredforplanningpurposes.Thespaceentitycanbe
identifiedas:
aplanningzoneforcommunity/municipalpurposes,
anareahavingspecialprotection,orpresentingcertainhazards,orhavingparticularproperties
(e.g.soilproperties,geologicalinterest),
anidentifiablepropertywithlegalboundaries(cadastre)andtitle
aspacewithinapropertywithinwhichbuildingisallowed
aspaceforaprescribedpurpose(e.g.parking)

Inadditiontobuildingsandspaces,andofinterestinageographiccontext,theIFCspatialhierarchy
alsocontains:

Site(alsositecomplexandpartofsite)asaplacewhereworkiscarriedout
Buildingstory(alsopartialbuildingstory)forplanningpurposesandalsoformorecomplexcity
maps

EachtypeofspatialstructureelementinIFChas

aname

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adescription
anobjecttype

TheNameattributeisusedtostorethenameofthebuilding,andbuildingstory.TheObjectType
attributeshouldbeusedtospecifythetypeofspatialstructurefromadictionaryorclassifiedlistof
acceptablenames.Itisprobablethatsuchnameswillbedefinedinastandardfeaturecatalog
appropriatetothelocalityinwhichthemodelisused.Forinstance,inNorway,thetypewouldbe
takenfromtheSOSIstandardcatalog(andeventuallyfromitsplannedreplacement).

Toassistwithnaming,theIFGprojectinNorwayworkedwiththedevelopmentoftheBARBi
dictionarywhichusesastandarddictionaryframeworkdefinedinISO12006part3andwhichis
designedtobeabletoworkwithIFCandsimilarinformationmodelsinrelatedindustries.

DistributionSystems
Buildingservicesareasignificantfeatureofbuildingsandconsequently,pipesandcablesarealready
wellcoveredbyIFC.Existingconceptswereextendedtohandletheprovisionofutilityservicesthat
needtobeidentifiedinGIS.TheidentificationofparticularsystemsishandledbyanIfcSystementity
andthisisusedtogroupoccurrencesofdistributionelements.

Aparticularissuewithdistributionsystemshoweveristheextenttowhichthecomponentsofa
systemareidentifiedbyaGISsystem.WhilstIFCcanbreakasystemdowntoallofitsindividual
parts(andgorightdowntothescrewinawallattachingasupportbracket),suchdetailisnottypically
requiredinGIS.Inthiscase,theaggregationcapabilityoftheIFCmodelcanbeusedtocreateless
richcomponentbreakdownswiththehigherordersofaggregationhavingseparateshape
representationsthataremoresuitabletothetypicalrequirementsofGIS.

CoordinateSystems
IFCprovidesasetofentitiesthatenablepositioningintheCartesiancoordinatespacetypicallyused
byAEC/FMsystemstoberelatedtoknowngeodeticcoordinatesystems.

Ageneralcoordinateoperation(IfcCoordinateOperation)handlesanyoperation(transformationor
conversion)betweentwocoordinatereferencesystems.Presently,onlytheconversionofalocal
engineeringcoordinatesystemintoamapcoordinatereferencesystemisdealtwith.Itisanticipated
thatfutureversionswillexpanduponthisprovision.

Amapconversion(IfcMapConversion)dealswithtransformingthelocalengineeringcoordinate
system,oftencalledworldcoordinatesystem,intothecoordinatereferencesystemoftheunderlying
map.Italsoallowsconversionofthelocaloriginofthelocalengineeringcoordinatesystemtoits
placewithinamap(usingeasting,northing,orthogonalheightasthecoordinates)androtationofthe
xaxisofthelocalengineeringcoordinatesystemwithinthehorizontal(easting/westing)planeofthe
map.Ascalefactorisprovidedforfutureusage.

Definitionofacoordinatereferencesystem(IfcCoordinateReferenceSystem)isbymeansofqualified
identifiers(nameofthecoordinatesystem,geodeticdatum,verticaldatum)only.Interpretationofthe
identifierisexpectedtobewellknowntothereceivingsoftwareaccordingtowelldefinedauthorities
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e.g.theEuropeanPetroleumSurveyGroup(EPSG)

SoftwareusedtotransportIFCmodelsintoGISapplications(andviceversa)isexpectedtohave
knowledgeabouttheimplementationspecificationsoftheOpenGISConsortium.

Aprojectedcoordinatesystem(IfcProjectedCRS)isacoordinatereferencesystemofthemapto
whichthemaptranslationofthelocalengineeringcoordinatesystemofanAEC/FMprojectrelates.
TheMapProjectionandMapZoneattributesuniquelyidentifytheprojectiontotheunderlying
geographiccoordinatereferencesystem,providedthattheyarewellknowninthereceiving
application.

Features
ThekeynewentityaddedtotheIFCmodelforgeographicinformationisthe
IfcGeographicalElement.Thisallowsforanoccurrenceofanytypeoffeaturethatmaybedeclaredin
afeaturecatalogtobeused.IfcGeographicalElementisasubtypeofIfcProductandtherefore
inheritsallofitsattributes.Thusitcanhaveseveralconcurrentshape(geometric)representations,
beclassifiedaccordingtowhateverclassificationsystemisused,beconstructedofidentified
materials,begroupedintolargergeographicelementsordecomposedintosmallerelements.Most
importantly,itcanbedefinedasantypeobject(calledIfcGeographicalElementType)whichmeans
thatitcanhaveexternallyspecifiedpropertysetsattached.

TypeobjectsinIFCallowadefinitionofsomethingtobedefinedonceandthenreusedmanytimes.
Eachoccurrenceofatypeobjecthasauniqueidentifier,locationandorientation.Propertysetsthat
definetypeinformationaredefinedfortheIfcGeographicalElementType.Aninitialpropertyset
(Pset_GeographicElementTypeFeatureCatalog)thatcapturesprincipleconceptsofthefeature
catalogispublishedwiththeIFC2x3andisshownbelow,:

Property Type Datatype Definition

Catalog IfcPropertySingleValue IfcLabel Thecatalogfromwhichthe

geographicelementtype
concernedisidentified

Identity IfcPropertySingleValue IfcIdentifier Theidentityorcodeofthe

geographicelementtypewithin
thecatalog.

ElementName IfcPropertySingleValue IfcLabel Thenameofthegeographic

elementtypeasusedinthe
catalog.

ElementItem IfcPropertySingleValue IfcLabel Afurtherqualificationofthe

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elementnameasusedinthe
catalog.Theelementitemmay
representasubtypeofthenamed
geographicelementtypeasin
name=Building,item=House.

Description IfcPropertySingleValue IfcText Narrativedescriptionproviding

furtherinformationaboutthe
element

Table1Principleconceptsofthegeographicfeaturecatalog

QualifiedGeometry
Generally,geometryentitiesinIFCdonothavetheirowngloballyuniqueidentifier.Theyrelyonthe
objecttowhoseshaperepresentationtheycontributetoprovideuniqueidentification.However,ithas
beenrecognisedthat,forgeographicinformationandforplanningsupport,thereisaclassof
geometricentitiesthatcanbeusedtoshowacommonidea.Anexampleofthisisacontourlineona
map.Althoughtheoretically,alineofconstantelevationshouldbeabletobeinterpretedfrom3D
data,GISexpertsassociatedwiththeIFGprojectinsistedthattheprovisionofsuchlinesasadistinct
entitywasarequirement.

Resultingfromthis,theconceptofqualifiedgeometryhasbeenaddedtoIFC.Qualifiedgeometry
providesageometricentitywithitsownuniqueidentifier.Entitiesforthisarecurves,surfacesand
vilumesspecialisedfromIfcAnnotation.Thus,qualifiedgeometrywith0D,1D,2Dand3D
representationcanbeused.

Althoughoriginallydevelopedforcontoursonmaps,theideaofqualifiedgeometrywasquickly
identifiedashavingmoregeneralpurposepossibilities.Theseincludedtheidentificationofother
equipotentiallines(e.g.isoluxlinesforlighting,isobarsforpressureetc.),surveyareasandsurvey
points,buildingfaadeoutlines,groundcontrolpoints,pointsforlocationofGPSrecordingstations
andmore.

QualifiedgeometryisidentifiedasatypeofannotationwithintheIFCmodelasiteffectively
representsinformationthatwouldbeannotatedonamap.Eachgeometryentityisqualifiedastoits
purposeusingtheNameattributeinheritedfromtherootentityinIFC(IfcRoot).

TerrainModelling
IFCalreadycontainedallthefacilitiesrequiredtomodeltheshapeofaterrainincludingits
representationeitherbyagridorasatriangulatedirregularnetworkl(TIN).Todate,thesehavebeen
appliedtotheIfcSiteentity.

Proximity
AgainarequirementofGISexpertsandparticularlyneededforplanningpurposesistheproximityof

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oneobjecttoanother.Previously,IFChadsufficientinformationtoenableproximitytobedetermined
geometrically(usingageometricqueryoraspecializedgeometryengine)butthiswasconsideredto
beinsufficient.Asaresult,anewproximityrelationshipwasaddedtoIFCthatenablesnotonlythe
captureofactualdistancesbetweenobjectsbutalsotherequireddistance(minimumormaximum)
asaconstraint.Essentially,thisprovidesaruledirectlywithintheIFCmodel.

BeyondIFG
Intheabove,discussionhascentredentirelyontherequirementsforinformationexpressedthrough
theIFGproject.However,therearealsoexistingconceptswithintheIFCmodelthatcanbeapplied
togeographicalelementsthatextendtherangeofpossibilitiesintonewapplicationareas.Because
entitiesarebeingreused,thismeansthatIFCsupportcomesforfree.Maybenotexactlyfreesince
guidancehastobegiventoimplementersandthenecessaryviewdefinitionsspecifiedbutatleast
themodeldoesnotneedfurtherextension.Twokeyareasaregivenbelow.Theyarenottheonly
possibilitiesrememberthattheIFCmodelislarge,competentandmaturesomuchmoremaybe
feasible.

Permits

TheconceptofapermittoallowworktobedoneiscapturedthroughtheIfcPermitentity.Thishas
thespecificattributeofapermitidentityandalsopointstoadocumentwithinwhichmorespecific
informationconcerningthepermitcanbeelaborated.Permitsareoccurrencesofthegeneral
IfcControlcapabilitythatallowsconstraintsorcontrolmeasurestobeappliedtospecificobjectsand
canthereforebeassignedbyrelationship(IfcRelAssigns)toanyproductorprocess.Thiscouldbeto
abuilding(asabuildingpermit)ortoaworkorder(toallowmaintenanceworkinasensitiveor
securearea).

LifecycleInformation
Lifecycleinformationaboutobjectswithinabuildingisasrelevantassuchinformationaboutbuildings
andotherexternalstructures.Tosupportmaintenanceandfacilitiesmanagementrequirements,IFC
addedinformationabouttheservicelifeofobjectsandtheservicelifefactorscontributingtothe
servicelifedeterminationaspartoftheIFC2x2release.Servicelifedatacaptureisbasedonthe
specificationsetoutintherelevantISOstandard.

Aswellastoindividualobjects,IFCalsoallowslifecycleinformationaboutassets(sinceanassetis
consideredtobeagroupofobjectstreatedasasingleentityforagivenpurposeusuallyfinancialor
operational).

Furthersupportingthelifecycleconceptisthecaptureoftheconditionofobjectsandtheabilityto
recordconditioninaneventbasedlog.Constraintscanalsobeappliedtoobjectstodefinetrigger
conditionsatwhichpointsomespecifiedactionshouldbetakenontheobject.

IFCalsocontainsasetofentitiesthatenablecostmodelstobedevelopedandthesecanbeapplied
toenablelifecyclecosttobedetermined(oreventheanticipatedcostatanypointintimegiventhe
effectofvariousinfluencingfactors).

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EnvironmentalImpactInformationCapture
ThecostmodelinIFCprovedtobeparticularlyinterestingwhentheideaofdeveloping
environmentalimpactinformationarose.Itrapidlybecameclearthatenvironmentalimpactcouldbe
treatedinthesamewayasfinancialcost(onlytheunitsneedingtobechanged).Thisledtothe
developmentofageneralideaknownasanIfcAppliedValue.Forenvironmentalimpactassessment,
itcanbeusedtodeterminethingslikeCO2emission,sulphureffectsandmuchmore.

Sensors
AspartofthebuildingcontrolscapabilityoftheIFCmodel,thereisanIfcSensorTypeentity(whose
equivalentoccurrenceisIfcDistributionControlElement).Varioussensortypesarepredefined
includingCO2,fire,flow,gas,heat,humidity,light,moisture,movement,pressure,smoke,soundand
temperature.Othertypescanbeuserdefined.Mostsensortypesalsohavepredefinedpropertysets
thathandleranges,setpointsandotherrelevantattributes.Sensorscanbeappliedexternallyaswell
asinternallyandidentifiedassensingvarioustypesofexternalconditions.Inconjunctionwiththe
newgeographicalcapabilitiesofthemodel,thisoffersthepotentialtoincludepollutionmonitoringas
asupportedusecase(eventhoughitisnotyetincludedonsuchasupportlist).

Lastupdated:10thSeptember2006byJeffreyWix

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