BIM Show Live 2014 - IFC: the developers perspective by Angel Velez from Autodesk & Rebecca De Cicco from Digital Node

1. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
IFC
-­‐
The
Developer
and
User
Perspective
Angel
Velez
Autodesk
Senior
Principal
Engineer
@autodesk
www.autodesk.com
Rebecca
De
Cicco
Digital
Node
Architectural
Designer
&
BIM
Specialist
@digital_node
@becdecicco
www.digital-­‐node.com

2. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Why?

3. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
LRUG
Background
RDC
Career…
Community….

4. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Background
AV
• Senior
Principal
Engineer,
Autodesk
Revit
• B.S.
Computer
Science,
B.S.
Mathematics,
MIT,
1992
• M.S.
Computer
Science,
Stanford,
1994
• Charles
River
Software:
1999
– Later
renamed
to
Revit
Technology
Corporation
• Acquired
by
Autodesk,
1
April
2002
• Started
on
IFC
in
Sep
2004

5. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Why
is
IFC
Important….
IFC
forms
part
of
the
government
drive
toward
Level
3
BIM
Requiring:
• Industry
Foundation
Class
(IFC)
• International
Framework
for
Dictionaries
Library
(IFD
Library)
• Information
Delivery
Manual/
Model
View
Definition
(IDM/MVD)

6. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
IFC
=
Industry
Foundation
Classes
• Maintained
by
buildingSMART
International,
http://www.buildingsmart.org/
• Exchange
of
intelligent
data
between
Arch/Struct/MEP
and
downstream
applications
• Current
active
version:
IFC
2x3
• Newest
version:
IFC
4
What
is
IFC….

7. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Revit
ships
with
high-­‐quality
IFC
implementation
• Autodesk
supports
IFC
interoperability
– Full
time
team
assigned
to
improvements
and
bug
fixes
– Support
for
new
elements
– Support
for
new
workflows
Autodesk
:
Commitment
to
IFC

8. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
§ 1
top
level
IfcProject
contains
all
of
the
data
§ 1
optional
IfcSite
(corresponding
to
the
main
site
in
Revit)
§ 1
top
level
IfcBuilding,
contained
in
the
IfcSite
§ 1
or
more
IfcBuildingStoreys
(corresponding
to
Revit
Levels
with
plan
views
marked
as
building
stories)
IFC
General
File
Format

9. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• CY
2005:
IFC
added
to
Revit
Building
8
• CY
2007:
Revit
Architecture
fully
certified:
– Revit
Building
9:
Full
Code
Checking
View
– RAC
2008:
Full
Extended
Coordination
View
(in
June
Web
Update)
• CY
2011:
Revit
IFC
export
becomes
open
source
with
2012
UR2
• CY
2013:
RAC,
RST,
RME
receive
CV
2.0
export
certification
– Currently
finishing
Revit
LT
2014
CV2.0
certification
– Certification
good
for
2
years
(Revit
2015
is
automatically
certified)
• CY
2013:
Basic
IFC4
support;
more
as
standards
are
created
• CY
2014:
Revit
IFC
import
becomes
open
source
with
2015
RTM
– Not
complete,
primarily
supporting
Link
IFC
– More
to
come!
History
of
IFC
and
Revit

10. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Initial
emphasis
on
export
• Before
Revit
2013
– IFC
Import:
Poor
Quality
– IFC
Export:
Passing
Quality
• Revit
2013-­‐2014
– IFC
Import:
Slightly
better,
still
below
average
quality
– IFC
Export:
Good
Quality
and
getting
better
• Revit
2015
– IFC
Import:
For
Link
for
Reference:
Excellent
quality
and
speed,
basic
IFC4
– IFC
Import:
For
Open
for
Parametric
Editing:
Average
quality
and
speed
– IFC
Export:
Very
Good
Quality
with
basic
IFC4
support
• Quality
to
keep
improving
with
time
• How
do
we
measure
quality
objectively?
Quality
of
IFC
in
Revit

11. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Customer
flexibility
– Add
new
properties,
property
sets
and
data
– Tweak
output
for
improved
interoperability
with
other
systems
• Countrification
– GSA
– Korean
requirements
– Other
developing
requirements
• Updates
are
decoupled
from
Revit’s
release
cycle
– Certification
updates
– IFC4
– Other
IFC
standards
extensions
as
they
are
introduced
• Allow
others
outside
the
Revit
core
team
to
make
contributions
– Autodesk
Research
group:
Export
connectors
– Outside
consultant:
FM
Handover
view
for
Bavarian
Government
Why
Open
Source?
Developer
View

12. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Share
and
translate
data
• Collaboration
with
consultants
and
design
teams
through
varying
stages
• To
allow
for
subcontractor
and
supply
chain
data
embedding
in
model
process
• Data
Extraction
at
varying
stages
via
COBie
Data
drops
Why
Open
Source?
Architect
View

13. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• BuildingSMART
acts
a
3rd
party
independent
certifier
of
IFC
software
• Certification
is
based
on
a
particular
MVD
– MVD
=
“Model
View
Definition”
– An
MVD
represents
the
subset
of
IFC
used
to
support
a
particular
workflow
What
is
Certification?

14. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Most
common
(current)
MVD:
Coordination
View
(1.0
and
2.0)
– Workflow
supported:
the
exchange
of
data
between
software
packages
for
the
purpose
of
coordinating
work
– Updated
to
CV
2.0
for
latest
certification
round
• De-­‐emphasize
annotation
support
for
better
geometric
and
parametric
support
– Will
be
split
into
“Reference
View”
and
”Design
Handover
View”
for
IFC4
Certification
Workflow

15. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Old
certifications
(2007
and
before)
had
two
stages
– 1st
stage
certification:
simple
test
parts
– 2nd
stage:
real
user
parts,
6
(or
so)
months
later
– Testing
was
informal
and
cursory
– For
Extended
Coordination
View
(2006):
• 1st
stage
certification:
June
29-­‐30,
2006,
Budapest.
• 2nd
stage
certification:
March,
2007,
Waltham.
• Attending:
Revit,
Allplan,
ArchiCAD,
Bentley,
Tekla
and
others
• New
certification
(2012-­‐)
has
two
steps:
export
and
import
– Test
cases
precisely
defined
– Automated
testing
before
rigorous
manual
testing
– Export
completed
before
import
started
Certification
Testing
Process

16. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Certification
Testing
Process

17. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Instructions
given
via
PDF
• Modelled
in
vendor’s
software
• Exported
to
IFC
• Results
shared
Certification
Step
by
Step

18. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Export
(2013-­‐4)
– 2013:
Revit
Architecture,
Structure,
MEP
certified
– 2014
Revit
LT:
all
test
cases
done,
waiting
on
buildingSMART
for
testing
• Confident
in
quality,
only
minor
issues
• Import
– Intend
to
get
import
certified
– Will
start
after
Revit
LT
is
certified
(i.e.,
export
certification
complete)
– Intend
to
certify
new
code
Process

19. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• First
released
on
September
13,
2011,
with
R2012
UR2
– ~335KB
of
.NET
code
– Limited
IFC
entity
creation
functionality
– Much
of
the
code
still
handled
natively
– Can
be
entirely
replaced
by
custom
exporter
– Latest
version:
1.0.4
• R2013
version
released
on
March
28,
2012,
with
R2013
FCS
– ~2MB
of
.NET
code
– Ability
to
create
any
IFC
entity
defined
in
an
EXPRESS
file
schema
– Some
code
still
handled
natively,
primarily
legacy
support
– Alternate
UI
available
(also
released
March
28)
– Can
be
entirely
replaced
by
custom
exporter
– Latest
version:
2.17.0
(Exporter),
1.17
(UI),
released
20
Feb
2014
History
of
IFC
Support
in
Revit

20. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• R2014
version
released
on
April
12,
2013,
before
R2014
FCS
– More
code
moved
to
.NET;
many
IFC-­‐specific
API
calls
obsoleted
– Basic
IFC4
support
with
R2014
UR1
– Latest
version:
3.10
(Exporter),
2.9
(UI),
released
10
Apr
2014
• R2015
version
released
on
3
Apr
2014
– First
version
to
include
import
and
export
code
– First
version
to
bundle
export
UI
with
main
code
History
of
IFC
Support
in
Revit

21. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• R2012
changes:
– Support
for
exporting
rooms
(spaces)
in
IFC2x3
in
the
same
manner
as
IFC
2x2
to
comply
with
some
South
Korean
governmental
requirements.
– Fix
for
some
objects
not
exporting
in
IFC2x3
mode
but
succeeding
in
IFC2x2
export.
– Current
View
only
export
now
correctly
ignores
filtered
elements,
and
elements
outside
of
scope
boxes.
• All
changes
occurred
after
Update
Release
2
• Changes
relatively
minor
but
greatly
helped
some
customers.
Open
Source
Updates,
R2012
Changes

22. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• 17
major
and
3
minor
releases
since
R2013
RTM
– 16
releases
since
R2013
UR2
• Hundreds
of
major
and
minor
issues
resolved,
including:
– Performance
improvements
(v2.5
50%
faster
than
v2.1)
– New
functionality
(support
for
grids,
systems,
new
property
sets)
– New
UI
added
to
allow
extra
customization
(ignore
UI
freeze!)
• Intend
to
have
updates
on
a
4-­‐8
week
timeframe.
Open
Source
Updates,
R2013
Changes

23. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• SourceForge
(http://sourceforge.net/projects/ifcexporter)
– Only
public
location
containing
source
code
– Contains
R2012-­‐R2015,
R2013-­‐R2014UI
installs
– Top
5
countries:
Netherlands,
Norway,
US,
UK,
China
(~55%
of
total)
• Revit
App
Store
(http://apps.exchange.autodesk.com/RVT/Home/Index)
– Contains
R2013-­‐R2014
and
R2013-­‐R2014UI,
not
R2012
Open
Source
Updates,
R2013
Changes

24. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
Sep-­‐11
Oct-­‐11
Nov-­‐11
Dec-­‐11
Jan-­‐12
Feb-­‐12
Mar-­‐12
Apr-­‐12
May-­‐12
Jun-­‐12
Jul-­‐12
Aug-­‐12
Sep-­‐12
Oct-­‐12
Nov-­‐12
Dec-­‐12
Jan-­‐13
Feb-­‐13
Mar-­‐13
Apr-­‐13
May-­‐13
Jun-­‐13
Jul-­‐13
Aug-­‐13
Sep-­‐13
Oct-­‐13
Nov-­‐13
Dec-­‐13
Jan-­‐14
R2012
R2013
R2014
Total
Open
Source
Total
Downloads

25. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Need
Subversion
(SVN)
to
download
and
modify
source
code
– TortoiseSVN
at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tortoisesvn/files/
– All
local
modifications
allowed,
uploading
is
restricted
• Contributions
controlled
by
BIM
Open
Source
Steering
committee
(representatives
from
Autodesk,
DPR,
GSA,
HOK,
and
Dark
Architects)
• Contributors
can
be
“promoted”
from
Users
to
Developers
to
Committers,
who
have
direct
write
access
to
the
code.
• All
contributions
are
welcome!
– As
of
version
2.1:
ZIP
file
included
for
those
without
some
version
of
SVN
IFC
Open
Source:
How
to
Modify

26. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Ability
to
have
rapid
response
to
customer
issues
– Fix
issues
in
the
releases
that
customers
are
working
in
• Allow
users
to
customize
IFC
for
their
own
needs
– Revit
Dutch
Standards
work
integrated
• Work
towards
requirements
asynchronous
to
Revit’s
release
schedule
– IFC2x3
re-­‐certification
– IFC4
support
IFC
Open
Source
Exporter
Goals
achieved

27. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• COBie
based
on
IFC
FM
(Facilities
Management)
Handover
MVD
• IFC
=
geometry
+
BIM
data
• COBie
=
BIM
data
only
• COBie
file
can
be
generated
from
IFC
file,
not
vice
versa
Autodesk
:
Commitment
to
IFC
and
COBie

28. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Two
ways
to
get
COBie
data
from
Revit:
• Direct
via
COBie
toolkit
– http://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/interoperability
• Indirect
via
IFC
export
– IFC
Exporter
v3.9
and
beyond
includes
support
for
COBie
toolkit
parameters
• No
“preferred”
method
Autodesk
:
IFC
and
Revit

29. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
IFC
&
COBie

30. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
The
Architect
Perspective…

31. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
From
the
User…
I
don’t
know
how
to
code…?
What
does
the
export
option
do…?
How
do
you
translate
the
data…?
What
does
it
all
mean…??

32. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Why
do
we
as
Architects
need
to
use
IFC?

33. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Benefits
1. Better
coordinated
buildings
2. Sharing
3D
information
and
data
across
projects
openly
with
consultants
who
do
not
share
the
same
software
platform
3. Interrogation
of
design
in
other
software
4. Architect
regaining
role
as
lead
consultant.

34. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Common
workflows
for
IFC
interrogation
on
projects
1. Open
IFC
Directly
2. Import
IFC
using
other
software
3. Creation
of
container
file
for
linking
4. Link
IFC
R
2015
5. Export
Nwc.

35. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
The
user
intends
to
use
the
IFC
file
as
a
reference
only.
This
means:
• Data
is
read-­‐only
• Geometry:
maximum
fidelity
• Native
Revit
elements:
minimal
(Levels,
Grids,
some
annotations)
• All
properties,
including
name
and
original
IFC
entity
type
correctly
set
• Proper
mapping
to
Revit
categories
• All
materials
properly
set
– Exception:
materials
assigned
to
material
layers
may
get
lost
on
import,
as
these
material
layers
may
not
be
independently
processed.
• Very
good
performance,
both
on
import
(time
to
import)
and
in
Revit
Link
IFC
for
Reference

36. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• What’s
wrong
with
import?
– Unreliable
– Slow
– No
link
– Missing
information
– Roundtrip
bad
• Why
not
just
fix
the
native
code?
– Import
code
based
on
state
of
Revit
in
2005
– Starting
fresh
allows
having
a
different
foundation
– .NET
implementation
allows
API-­‐based
open
source
• All
the
benefits
of
export
open
source
IFC
Import
R2015
Work

37. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
• Plan
to
completely
rewrite
import
code
in
Open
Source
.NET
– Open
source
released
with
R2015
release;
not
expected
to
be
complete
(similar
to
R2012
export
open
source
release).
– IFC
import
to
be
based
on
generic
API
to
build
geometry,
not
IFC-­‐specific
• Current
“Open
IFC”
to
be
replaced
by
2
import
options:
– Link
IFC
Reference
Model
=
“Reference
View”
– Open
IFC
Editing
Model
=
“Design
Handover
View”
IFC
Import
R2015
Work

38. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
The
user
intends
to
take
ownership
of
the
contents
of
the
IFC
file
and
continue
modelling
in
Revit.
This
means:
• Geometry:
High
fidelity.
Fine
details,
such
as
complex
wall
joins,
may
not
be
properly
preserved.
• Native
Revit
elements:
Used
as
much
possible.
• All
properties,
including
name
and
original
IFC
entity
type
correctly
set
• Proper
mapping
to
Revit
categories
• All
materials
properly
set.
• Good
performance,
but
not
as
fast
as
referencing.
Open
IFC
-­‐
Developer

39. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Opening
IFC
-­‐
User
1. Compress
the
IFC
2. Open
Settings
must
be
defined.
3. Class
Mapping
setup
in
Revit
template.
4. Template
assigned
for
IFC
Import.

40. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Exporting
IFC
1. IFC
Options
in
Revit
(default)
or
Alternate
UI
(Autodesk
Exchange).
2. Setup
company
specific
export
settings.
3. Ensure
all
elements
are
mapped
correctly
for
export-­‐
including
massing
elements.
4. Setup
a
‘best
practice’
workflow
for
Revit
elements
that
do
not
function
as
well.

41. BIM
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Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Exporting
IFC

42. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Exporting
IFC
Revit
elements
to
watch
on
export:
1. Parts.
2. Complex
Geometry
/
Parametric
families
with
visibility
parameters
assigned.
3. Walls
and
edited
Wall
profiles
and
attaching
.
4. In
place
massing
must
have
a
shared
parameter
of
IfcExportAs
assigned.

43. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Parts
and
IFC
Why
use
Parts?
How
to
accurately
represent
façade
patterning.
Remember
export
options.
Parts
will
be
assigned
to
view
visibility
settings
only.

44. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Complex
Geometry
&
IFC

45. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Import
(Ggym)
vs
Open
IFC
Revit
2014
Jon
Mirtschin
–
Geometry
Gym
has
created
an
import
tool
which
allows
for
direct
import
of
IFC
Into
project.
Differing
workflows
for
individual
users
depending
on
their
scope
of
work
and
project
type.
This
Import
tool
for
complex
geometry
modelled
in
Rhino/
Grasshopper

46. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Categorisation
in
Complex
Geometry
These
tools
allow
for
categorisation
across
design
stages
within
Rhino
and
Grasshopper.

47. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
IFC
Revit
and
other
design
tools
Why?
1. Architects
utilise
SketchUp
in
early
design
stages
–
common
process
2. SketchUp
vs
Concept
modelling
and
design
options
3. IFC
will
only
work
if
Design
Options
are
made
‘primary’.

48. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Challenges,
Pitfalls
and
the
Good
Stuff
Revit
vs
Revit
Lt
2014
and
2015
1. You
cannot
link
IFC
in
2014
–
only
2015
workflow.
2. Revit
2013
no
longer
receiving
IFC
updates
as
of
April
2014.
3. Improvements
2014/2015
.
4. Links
must
be
bound
for
exporting
(or
exported
individually).
5. Current
Industry
Knowledge.
6. Revit
LT
not
currently
certified.

49. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Other
Architectural
Software
&
IFC
Import
or
Open
Different
software
allow
for
differing
mapping
options
as
per
last
year’s
BIM
Show
live
presentation
by
Evolve
and
Bond
Bryan
Architects:
Note:
1. Create
a
Revit
Template
to
translate
System
family
types
automatically
(
Geometry
Gym
–
in
progress).
2. Ensure
all
modelling
elements
are
mapped
to
their
correct
IFC
mapping
elements
in
other
software.
3. Validate
and
check
the
data
upon
import
to
Revit
4. Ensure
units
translate
correctly
5. Shared
coordinates
are
inconsistent
Note:
Software
elements
are
not
consistent.
It
is
important
to
realise
this
before
utilising
the
IFC
workflow
in
Revit.

50. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Open
directly
or
Imported
–
what
are
the
differences
1. Revit
IFC
Open
tool
translates
most
of
the
system
families
better
than
the
Import
tool.
2. Import
tool
faster.
3. Open
IFC
will
be
certified.
4. Third
party
software
currently
not
reliable.
5. Some
stairs,
slabs,
ceilings
in
both
options
by
default
still
translate
into
generic
objects.
6. Generally
walls,
doors,
windows
work
well.

51. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Understanding
the
text
editor

52. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Top
Tips
and
Resources
Online
Resources:
-­‐ http://sourceforge.net/p/ifcexporter/discussion/
general/
-­‐ http://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/
interoperability
-­‐ http://www.buildingsmart.org/organization
-­‐ http://www.revitforum.org/
-­‐ http://sourceforge.net/p/ifcexporter/wiki/Notes
%20on%20support%20for%20FMHandOverView/
Building
Smart
Certification
List:
http://www.buildingsmart-­‐tech.org/certification/ifc-­‐
certification-­‐2.0/ifc2x3-­‐cv-­‐v2.0-­‐certification/
participants

53. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Social
Media
Resources
Twitter
@bondbryanBIM
–
Archicad
and
IFC
expert
Rob
Jackson
@lukeyjohnson
-­‐
Revit
BIM
Expert
@geometrygym
–
Revit,
IFC,
Grasshopper
Expert.
@IFC_standards
-­‐
IFC
Twitter
Handle,
managed
by
Ryan
Schultz.
@mdradvies
–
BIM
expert
and
IFC
Fan.
@vassaug
–
Revit
Expert,
IFC
lover.
LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Industry-­‐Foundation-­‐Classes-­‐IFC-­‐3690870
People/
Blogs
http://bimblog.bondbryan.com/
http://www.mdr-­‐advies.nl/
http://geometrygym.blogspot.co.uk/

54. BIM
Show
Live
2014
@digital_node
@autodesk
Angel
Velez
Senior
Principal
Engineer
Autodesk
@autodesk
www.autodesk.com
Rebecca
De
Cicco
Architectural
Designer
&
BIM
Specialist
Digital
Node
@digital_node
@becdecicco
www.digital-­‐node.com
Thank
You
for
listening.
Questions?