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BIM A0. Introduction to BIM

T1 Introduction to BIM
C5 buildingSMART and IFC

Author: Rafael Riera López

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BIM A0. Introduction to BIM
T1 Introduction to BIM

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C5 buildingSMART and IFC

buildingSMART International is a private non-profit organization

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whose primary goals are the development and standardization

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of BIM systems globally.

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The organization was created in the United States of America in the 1990s to meet the need of
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standardization among different construction programs used in the field for better communication

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between the different participants involved in a construction project.

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Figure 1. The “buildingSMART: International Alliance for Interoperability” logo.
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The organization brings together businesses, organizations and professionals of the AECO industry

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that participate during the life cycle of a project: architects, engineers, construction workers, facility

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managers, material and product manufacturers, public administrators, software developers, training
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companies, research organizations and various collectives such as professional associations.

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The main objectives of buildingSMART are:

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 To develop and maintain open and neutral international BIM standards (Open BIM)
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 Accelerate interoperability in the construction sector through success stories

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 Provide specifications, documentation and reference guides

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
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Identify and resolve problems that impede or inhibit the exchange of information
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
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Extend the use of this technology and associated processes throughout the entire life cycle
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of the building and to all of the participants involved

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History of buildingSMART
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In 1995 in the USA, Autodesk organized a private alliance along with 12 other companies to
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test the benefits of collaborative work in a constructive process by exchanging information between
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different software types in the construction sector. This alliance included companies such as
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Autodesk, Archibus, AT&T, Carrier Corporation, HOK Architects, Honeywell, Jaros Baum & Bolles,
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Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Spring Software, Softdesk Software, Timberline Software and
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Tishman Construction. These businesses, which were involved in architecture, engineering and the
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development of software, decided to invest in the research and development of of constructive

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processes.
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© Zigurat Global Institute of Technology. Commercial use is not allowed. You may not copy, distribute, display,
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perform the work and make derivative works thereof for commercial purposes. Always recognise and give the
original author prior written authorisation. (Rev.0)
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BIM A0. Introduction to BIM
T1 Introduction to BIM

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C5 buildingSMART and IFC

After one year, this alliance came to the following three conclusions:
 Interoperability was viable and had a great commercial potential.

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 The standards had to be public and international.

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 This private partnership had to become open to obtain more members and at the same time

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achieve a bigger interest worldwide.

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Figure 2.1. The first logo of the IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) file type.

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In 1994, the Alliance produced two explanatory videos that show the beginnings of the concept of
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interoperability through Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). Through these videos, we are able to
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understand the concept of BIM not as a modern concept or one of the future, but as one that has
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been in development for more than 30 years.

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In Videos 2.1 and 2.2, we are able to see how different companies began to develop interoperability
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between different systems thanks to the evolution of computers. Both videos show how the
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computer allowed the construction sector to evolve with design and engineering software, which, in

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turn, allowed for the drawing of plans, and design of facilities and structures in a faster and more

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automated way. This evolution, however, did not answer to the need for communication between
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the different parts of a project, or between involved participants.

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As addressed by the first video presenter,

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“EACH SOFTWARE PROGRAM HAS ITS OWN WAY OF DEFINING TERMS FOR THE COMPUTER
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TO UNDERSTAND . SO THEY ALL TALK TO THE COMPUTER , BUT THEY DON ´T TALK TO EACH
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OTHER. WHICH MEANS THAT THE PEOPLE WHO USE THEM CAN´T DO A VERY GOOD JOB OF
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TALKING TO ONE ANOTHER EITHER . AT LEAST , NOT WITH THEIR DATA FILES AND ELECTRONIC
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DRAWINGS AND DOCUMENTS.”

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It is interesting to observe the origins of systems that are commonplace in today’s construction
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sector. The videos are named, ‘The End of Babel’, or the end of working in different languages.
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© Zigurat Global Institute of Technology. Commercial use is not allowed. You may not copy, distribute, display,
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perform the work and make derivative works thereof for commercial purposes. Always recognise and give the
original author prior written authorisation. (Rev.0)
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 t
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BIM A0. Introduction to BIM
T1 Introduction to BIM

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C5 buildingSMART and IFC

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Video 2.1. IFC: Where it all Started – The End of Babel. Part 1 of 2.
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Video 2.2. IFC: Where it all Started – The End of Babel. Part 2 of 2.
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In May 1996, the International Alliance for Interoperability (AIA) was founded in London, in a
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meeting of representatives from North America, Europe and Asia. The main task of the IAI was to
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establish chapters by country or in some cases by region or language. At the same time, there would
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be an international organization with two representatives for each chapter responsible for managing
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the development of international standards.

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On the 11th of January 2008, the IAI decide to change its name to buildingSMART so as to better
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reflect the nature and objectives of the organization. This name change was underpinned by the
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following values:
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- Building: This word choice was intended to unify the entire construction sector.
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- Smart: This term would reflect the way we all want to build – intelligently.
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© Zigurat Global Institute of Technology. Commercial use is not allowed. You may not copy, distribute, display,
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perform the work and make derivative works thereof for commercial purposes. Always recognise and give the
original author prior written authorisation. (Rev.0)
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 t
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BIM A0. Introduction to BIM
T1 Introduction to BIM

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C5 buildingSMART and IFC

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Chapters

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As mentioned above, buildingSMART is an international association which is made up of different

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regional associations called chapters. The reason for these chapters is to extend the same

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buildingSMART philosophy to each country. The benefits of being part of such a chapter are:

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 Development of standards
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 Opportunities for networking (national and international)
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 World leaders in the adoption of BIM
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 Conferences and workshops
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 Certification of software compatible with the standard

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Today, buildingSMART has 17 chapters worldwide. The following is a list of buildingSMART regional

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chapters, sorted by continent:

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 North America: United States, Canada

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 Europe: Spain, Italy, Germany, France, United Kingdom & Ireland, Norway, Nordic (Denmark,
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Sweden, Finland), Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), Switzerland
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 Asia: China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore
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 Oceania: Australasia (Australia and New Zealand)

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Figure 4.1. Countries with regional chapters of buildingSMART (2016).

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© Zigurat Global Institute of Technology. Commercial use is not allowed. You may not copy, distribute, display,
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perform the work and make derivative works thereof for commercial purposes. Always recognise and give the
original author prior written authorisation. (Rev.0)
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BIM A0. Introduction to BIM
T1 Introduction to BIM

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C5 buildingSMART and IFC

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Video 2.3 below covers an introduction to the buildingSMART Hong Kong Chapter. In this video, you

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can learn a bit about more about buildingSMART´s objectives and methods.

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Video 2.3. Presentation of buildingSMART Hong Kong chapter.

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Zigurat has been a buildingSMART

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member in the area of training since ur

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2014

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Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) &

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Interoperability
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The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) format is an open specification format for the exchange of

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information on BIM systems. As we have discussed before, it was developed in the 1990s by the
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International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI), predecessor of today’s buildingSMART, with the aim
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of becoming a standard to facilitate interoperability between different computer software systems

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in the construction sector. The IFC format is available for download from the buildingSMART
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website and is completely free. Click here to access the download:

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http://www.buildingsmart-tech.org/specifications
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Figure 5.1. Current IFC logo.

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© Zigurat Global Institute of Technology. Commercial use is not allowed. You may not copy, distribute, display,
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perform the work and make derivative works thereof for commercial purposes. Always recognise and give the
original author prior written authorisation. (Rev.0)
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BIM A0. Introduction to BIM
T1 Introduction to BIM

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C5 buildingSMART and IFC

IFC classes and objects represent a model of geometric information represented alphanumerically

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and formed by a group of more than 600 classes and continuous expansion and development.

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All software that supports and works

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with IFC can read, write and exchange

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information with other compatible
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programs. ur
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Thus, we speak of “objects” with functionality and properties.

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Full interoperability among different software systems is very difficult to develop, since different
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software systems work internally with different computer codes and it is complex to make
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communication between them seamless. In each case, the interoperability through IFC has to know
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the capabilities and technical aspects of each program in order to work in the most efficient and
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rigorous way possible.
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For example, for the importation of a window from one program to another, the physical properties

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of the object, and not its transmittance properties, must be identified. To do this, we need to know

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that each case will work with certain criteria when we are interoperating between different parts of
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a project during the constructive process.

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However, although the interoperability is not perfect between technical programs, they do save time
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and aid communication between parties involved in the project. The mere fact that the geometry of
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a building, including its facilities and structure, can be imported means projects can reach a higher
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level of efficiency, development quality, delivery, as-built documentation and facility management.
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A GOVERNMENT STUDY CONDUCTED BY THE UNITED STATES

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ESTIMATED THAT ANNUALLY,

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MORE THAN $15M IS LOST IN THE COUNTRY DUE TO THE LACK

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OF INTEROPERABILITY BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT PARTICIPANTS

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IN FACILITY DESIGN, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION.

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In Figure 5.2, we can see the paradigm shift that comes from working with systems that facilitate the
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exchange of data between them and communicating in real-time under a model that emphasises
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collaboration.
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© Zigurat Global Institute of Technology. Commercial use is not allowed. You may not copy, distribute, display,
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perform the work and make derivative works thereof for commercial purposes. Always recognise and give the
original author prior written authorisation. (Rev.0)
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BIM A0. Introduction to BIM
T1 Introduction to BIM

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C5 buildingSMART and IFC

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Figure 5.2. Changing BIM workflows in respect to conventional methodology.

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Today we have over 150 software applications that support importing and/or exporting of IFC data.
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This has become the open international standard for BIM data and in countries like the United States
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of America, Norway, Finland and Denmark, the delivery of public projects is required in this format.
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© Zigurat Global Institute of Technology. Commercial use is not allowed. You may not copy, distribute, display,
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perform the work and make derivative works thereof for commercial purposes. Always recognise and give the
original author prior written authorisation. (Rev.0)
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 t
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BIM A0. Introduction to BIM
T1 Introduction to BIM

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C5 buildingSMART and IFC

On the following page, we see a sequence of interoperability taken from the Global BIM

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Management Certification program at Zigurat Global Institute of Technology, through which we

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take our structural model generated in ArchiCAD and export it to CYPECAD using IFC:

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Figure 5.3. Import file from ArchiCAD using IFC. Figure 5.4. 3D view in CYPECAD.
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Figure 5.5. Detected model information. Figure 5.6. CYPE detection of pillars.
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© Zigurat Global Institute of Technology. Commercial use is not allowed. You may not copy, distribute, display,
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perform the work and make derivative works thereof for commercial purposes. Always recognise and give the
original author prior written authorisation. (Rev.0)
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