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IFC (Industry Foundation Classes)

Also called: Industry Foundation Classes

An open, vendor-neutral file format for exchanging BIM data between software platforms. IFC lets a model authored in one tool be read by another.

Depends on: BIM (Building Information Modeling)

Enables: Digital permitting

Related: Revit

Jurisdictions Technology companies Architects

Why it matters

IFC matters to permitting because it is the format public agencies can standardize on without endorsing a vendor. Jurisdictions that accept model-based submissions typically specify IFC, which makes export quality a compliance concern in its own right.

Sources & reading

buildingSMART — IFC