IFC / openBIM (IFC)

IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is the open, vendor-neutral data schema for building information. It is an international standard (ISO 16739) that describes how building elements and their data are structured, so that a model can be exchanged between different software tools without being locked to any one vendor's proprietary format. openBIM is the broader idea: collaborating through open, shared standards rather than a single closed toolchain.

The problem IFC solves is interoperability. A real project uses many tools across many firms, and without a common format, information is trapped in — or degraded by — proprietary file exchanges. IFC lets an architectural model, a structural model and an MEP model meet on neutral ground, which is exactly what makes reliable federation and cross-tool coordination possible.

IFC and openBIM are stewarded by buildingSMART International, which also maintains related standards for describing exactly what information an exchange should contain. For a consultancy, openBIM is both a technical choice and a principle: it keeps a client's information portable and durable, independent of any single software vendor.