Introduction to IFC

IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is an international standard developed by IAI for the building model data exchanging. It is a class library for Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) objects, such as a wall or a window. IFC is written by EXPRESS of STEP. It takes the object-oriented approach, in which data are organized into a hierarchy of classes.

As IFC is non-proprietary and available globally to AEC/FM software developers, it enables interoperability among AEC/FM software applications, which means the end users in AEC/FM area can share the model data by IFCs. This helps to make interoperability a reality for AEC firms, building owners and authorities that use IFC-compliant software.

IFC Versions

    IFC Release 1.5 Online Documentation

    IFC Release 1.5.1 Online Documentation

    IFC Release 2.0 Online Documentation

    IFC Release 2x Final  

    ifcXML1 for IFC2x Final and IFC2x Addendum 1 versions

    IFC Release 2x Addendum 1

    IFC Release 2x2 Final Online Documentation

    ifcXML2 for IFC2x2 Final

    IFC Release 2x2 Addendum 1 Online Documention   

IFC-compliant Software

    Implementation Overview [by Jan 2003]