IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is a standardized, open data format used to capture and transfer comprehensive building information. Since its development in 1995 by buildingSMART international as an integral part of the openBIM standard, it has continuously grown in importance. Since its recognition as an official ISO standard in 2013 (ISO 16739), IFC has been regularly updated to meet the needs of the changing construction industry.
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The latest version, IFC4, enables the detailed representation of various elements in building construction, including walls, ceilings, columns, doors and windows. With a view to future development, IFC5 is planned to enable the integration of infrastructure areas such as roads, railways, bridges and tunnels as well as the corresponding routing (IFC alignment).
IFC ensures a manufacturer-neutral transmission of building information and is used as a reference standard by many national BIM standards. The structure of IFC includes the location structure, the functional structure and the material structure. Each element is identified by a unique identifier (GUID) and characterized using Psets (property sets).
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A detailed functional structure classifies building elements such as walls, ceilings, columns, doors and windows according to their function. Each classification is designed to provide an optimized representation of its specific features and geometry and is supported by specific Psets such as Pset_WallCommon or Pset_DoorCommon. These Psets can also include several element classes at the same time, such as Pset_Warranty.
An IFC file contains both alphanumeric and geometric information as well as object relationships. The currently heterogeneous implementation of the material structure in IFC is expected to be regulated by the ISO 23386 standard , which coordinates the interaction of building information with material and product information. The upcoming version, IFC5, is expected to bring changes in the material data structure and its use in BIM applications.