Assigning IFC attributes to architectural elements

You can use the Assign, Modify Object Attributes tool to assign IFC attributes to Allplan's architectural elements. These attributes, which are equivalent to the contents worked out by buildingSMART, are transferred as IFC properties.

buildingSMART (founded in 1995 as IAI - International Alliance for Interoperability) is a worldwide consortium. It is committed to driving the development of open internationally-recognized standards, tools and training to support the wider use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) by the Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) and Facilities Management (FM) industries. In supporting BIM, buildingSMART believes significant improvements in cost, value and environmental performance can be achieved through the use of open sharable asset information in the creation and operation of civil infrastructure and buildings worldwide. BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. A building information model is a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during its life-cycle; defined as existing from earliest conception to demolition. Open BIM is a universal approach to the collaborative design, realization and operation of buildings based on open standards, in particular the IFC format registered by ISO as ISO 16739.

You can find further information on buildingSMART on the Internet.

Some attributes such as u-value, structural behavior etc. are exported as special "ifc_Common_PropertySet" attributes. This ensures that subsequent applications can interpret them in an optimum manner.

To assign IFC attributes to an architectural element

1. Click Assign, Modify Object Attributes (How).
   

   Activate Assign, Modify Object Attributes in one of the following ways

   • Menu bar: Modify Bonus Tools Object Manager

   • Palette: Tools Modify area in the following module(s):

   Object Manager

2. Click the architectural element whose attributes you want to modify.
3. Click Assign new attribute in the top right corner.

   The Attribute Selection dialog box opens.

4. In the Attribute Selection dialog box, do the following:
   • Select the IFC attribute group in the Default category.
   • In the Attributes area on the right, select one or more IFC attributes appropriate to the architectural element clicked.
   • Click OK to confirm.

     The Assign, Modify Object Attributes dialog box is displayed again. The selected attributes are appended to the end of the list.

5. Enter values for the attributes in the column on the right.

   Note: Predefined values are available for some attributes.

6. Click OK to confirm.