Development of an Object-Relational IFC Server

In this paper we propose a framework for an Object Relational IFC Server (OR-IFC Server). Enormous amounts of information are generated in each project. Today, many BIM systems are developed by various CAD software vendors. Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) developed by International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) is an open standard data model for exchanging data between the various BIM tools. The IFC provides a foundation for exchanging and sharing of information directly between software applications and define a shared building project model. The IFC model server is a database management system that can keep track of transactions, modifications, and deletions. It plays a role as an information hub for storing and sharing information between various parties involved in construction projects. Users can communicate with each other via the internet and utilize functions implemented in the model server such as partial data import/export, file merge, version control, etc. IFC model servers using relational database systems have been developed. However, they suffered from slow performance and long transaction time due to a complex mapping process between the IFC structure and a relational-database structure because the IFC model schema is defined in the EXPRESS language which is object-favored language. In order to simplify the mapping process, we developed a set of rules to map the IFC model to an object-relational database (ORDB). Once the database has been configured, only those pieces of information that are required for a specific information-exchange scenario are extracted using the pre-defined information delivery manual (IDM). Therefore, file sizes will be reduced when exchanging data, meaning that files can now be effectively exchanged and shared. In this study, the framework of the IFC server using ORDB and IDM and the method to develop it will be examined.