BIMIFC

BIMIFC is a term used in some BIM communities to refer to the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) standard as it is used for Building Information Modeling data exchange. IFC is an open, vendor-neutral data model designed to describe the built environment across the lifecycle of a project. In this sense, BIMIFC emphasizes using IFC to enable interoperable data exchange among software applications, project teams, and facility managers.

IFC was developed by buildingSMART International and is published as an ISO standard (ISO 16739). The standard provides a common data schema that describes both the geometry and the properties of building elements, components, and systems, along with relationships and organization information. The data model supports a broad range of objects such as walls, doors, materials, spaces, and quantities, and it allows the definition of property sets to capture project-specific data.

A key feature of BIMIFC is its vendor-neutral, open approach, designed to support openBIM practices. Files can be exchanged in several IFC formats (e.g., IFC-SPF, IFC-XML) and are used to transfer information between architectural, structural, MEP, construction, and facility management software. This interoperability supports collaboration, clash detection, quantity takeoffs, and lifecycle information management for built assets.

Adoption varies by region and project type, and challenges remain around schema complexity, data quality, and varying levels of implementation across software. Nonetheless, IFC and BIMIFC continue to be foundational for open, interoperable BIM workflows. See also: IFC, buildingSMART, openBIM.