SHARING YOUR MODEL WITH IFC AN INTRODUCTION VECTORWORKS ARCHITECT Written for Vectorworks 2016 2 www.vectorworks.net 1 VECTORWORKS ARCHITECT Sharing Your Model with IFC TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction and Overview 4 What is IFC? Why IFC is Important What does IFC mean for Vectorworks users? Using IFC in Vectorworks 5 IFC Objects and Property Sets in Vectorworks Default Vectorworks Objects Tagged as IFC Objects Assigning Data to Customized Objects IFC Zones Viewing and Editing Data Custom Property Sets Proxy Elements and Other Special Cases How to Share and Use Your IFC Model 18 Exporting Importing Reference Model Workflow Other Resources and Information 21 Terminology 22 3 423 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW BIM authoring software such as Vectorworks has technology. No single vendor controls this format permits information to be shared and allowed architects and others within the AEC or makes money from licensing this technology. maintained throughout the life cycle of a industry to create complex, data-rich 3D models The most important thing to remember is that IFC construction project: design, analysis, to explore and document design. This new encodes both geometry and data. Additionally, specification, fabrication, construction, and technology also means new ways to share there are certain aspects of IFC that make it ideal occupancy. information among all consultants on a project. for an open BIM exchange. These include: The capabilities and usage for IFC standards are It becomes essential to establish an agreed upon Geometry – IFC geometry is robust and includes evolving. Some examples of the use of IFC method and file format for exchange between include: the different disciplines on a team. In some vectors, solids, surfaces, and so on. • Collaborative design, where an architect cases, a traditional 2D, line drawing exchange Data – IFC supports three main aspects of the data exports an architectural model to a such as a PDF or DWG, is needed to support in a BIM model: structural engineer for analysis and design, those who have not entered the 3D realm. Other Semantics – the meaning or identity of a and then imports the structural model, in an times, exchange of only geometry may be collection of geometry related to building IFC format, for coordination purposes necessary for clash detection and as a objects, such as a window within a wall. “background” for referencing in the form a 3D • Energy performance simulation and analysis of Relationships – speaks to how the DWG. However, if the file exchange needs to a building envelope and systems geometry is related to each other such as support Building Information Models and the a door inserted into a wall • Automated analysis of code compliance sharing of geometry and data, then the IFC file format should be considered. Properties – definition of materials that • Space planning and space inventory analysis includes data such as cost or model number What is IFC? Why is IFC important? Central to the concept of IFC is the idea of IFC, or Industry Foundation Classes, is a Being an open source file format, IFC supports a “semantic objects.” When the geometry of a standardized open source file format that is more collaborative BIM process allowing each model is identified as a building element and optimized for building information modeling. project stakeholder to make meaningful has “meaning” within the context of Much like PDF or HTML, the specification for the contributions to the project using the best-suited construction, it becomes a semantic object for code is open-source and freely available to the tool for the job. Every member of the project team a building information model. For this reason, public for use and for developers to create their has different needs and different end-goals. That IFC becomes an ideal file format to share a 3D own tools to handle the data format. means that they will be using the BIM model for model with associated data for the BIM process. This means that all software vendors have equal different purposes and to gather or generate access to the specifications and therefore, can IFC is an international open standard, different or unique data. There is no single developed and maintained by buildingSMART create the necessary import and export application that can fulfill all these different uses International, for building models and data that and needs. If each project member is able to use 4 www.vectorworks.net 675 VECTORWORKS ARCHITECT Sharing Your Model with IFC USING IFC IN VECTORWORKS the tool of their choice, then they are able to do created in another program is imported into Vectorworks Architect provides you with the their part in an efficient, effective, and executable necessary tools to create a complete and useful Vectorworks, the IfcSpace objects are correctly manner. All the while creating a model that can IFC model. Nearly all default content within translated into corresponding Vectorworks be shared and effectively used throughout the BIM Vectorworks Architect is tagged for IFC export Space objects. process. requiring minimum effort by the user. Some other benefits of using the IFC file format With the IFC Data command, you can assign IFC IFC Objects and Property Sets in Vectorworks include: ownership of your project contribution object types and properties to custom-built An IFC object is a building object that has been and the ability to be independent of limitations of geometry so applications that “read” IFC files can defined by both its occurrence and type. This versioning found in proprietary file formats, identify these objects. portability and accessibility of project information means that a building object created in Additionally, when IFC files are imported into from different applications, and the extensibility of Vectorworks, either with the default objects or a Vectorworks, the IFC objects within the file are an IFC file. user-created object, can be tagged as an IFC brought in as a particular and flexible kind of object to define its semantics, properties, and its What does IFC mean for Vectorworks users? plug-in object called an “IFC Entity.” An IFC relationship to other building objects. For Vectorworks users, IFC is the file format Entity is created because the properties of When an object is tagged for IFC, it is assigned needed to share both the geometry and data objects created in other programs cannot easily an IFC Property Definition known as a Property within their BIM model with the project owner, be matched to all the corresponding Set or PSet. An IFC Property Definition captures the project consultants, construction manager, Vectorworks object properties and controlling an objects dynamically extensible property set, facilities manager, and other project team parameters. For more detailed information on the or associative data. This set of properties is members who are not using Vectorworks. export and import of IFC files, see the Export/Import attached to the object’s occurrence and type. Section of this guide. Vectorworks supports Building Information More than one property set can be associated Model (BIM) interoperability using the Industry The semantic definition of an IFC Entity - with an IFC object, including custom property Foundation Classes (IFC) file format. IfcColumn, IfcWall or IfcWindow, for example, sets that are defined by the Vectorworks user. Vectorworks currently supports IFC versions is maintained and displayed. Like a group or 2x2 and 2x3 and has been certified by symbol, an IFC Entity can contain a collection buildingSMART International for the export of of geometry, and, like a plug-in object, it can models based on the IFC2x3 Coordination be inserted into walls and has sets of data and View 2.0 – Architecture model view properties attached. With this generalized definition, as well as the import of any IFC2x3 import capability, Vectorworks can import any Coordination View 2.0 model. This manual kind of object supported by the IFC standard. assumes the use of at least Vectorworks Space objects are somewhat unique in that Architect. when an IFC file containing space objects 5 89 IFC Object Tags for Standard Objects IFC Object Tags for Standard Objects Grab Bars = IfcRailing Most intelligent objects supplied with Vectorworks Architect Guardrail (Curved & Straight) = IfcRailing through the default building tools or symbol libraries are designated Handrail (Curved & Straight) = IfcRailing with their appropriate IFC tag by default. Blow is a list of major building components and their corresponding IFC object tags. HVAC Damper = IfcDistributionFlowElement Base Cabinet = IfcFurnishingElement HVAC Diffuser = IfcDistributionFlowElement Bath-Shower = IfcFlowTerminal HVAC Elbow Duct = IfcDistributionFlowElement Ceiling Grid = IfcCovering HVAC Flex Duct = IfcDistributionFlowElement Clothes Rod = IfcFurnishingElement HVAC Outlet = IfcDistributionFlowElement Column = IfcColumn HVAC Splitter = IfcDistributionFlowElement Column Wrap (Architectural column) = IfcCovering HVAC Straight Duct = IfcDistributionFlowElement Comm Device = IfcDistributionFlowElement HVAC Transition = IfcDistributionFlowElement Compartment Sink = IfcFlowTerminal HVAC Vertical Duct = IfcDistributionFlowElement Counter Top = IfcFurnishingElement HVAC Vertical Elbow = IfcDistributionFlowElement Curtain Wall (Straight & Curved) = IfcCurtainWall Incandescent Fixture = IfcDistributionFlowElement Curtain Wall Frames = ifcMember Landscape Wall (including Arc and Bezier) = IfcWall Curtain Wall Panels = IfcPlate Massing Model (on layer