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Template main · 2026-10-01

IFC elements with attributes, property sets, and allowed values.

106 elements

Element Description
Project

PROJECT

Establishes the shared organizational frame of reference so that discipline models and their content can be assigned unambiguously to the same construction project.
Site

SITE

Defines the shared project area so that buildings, property references, and external works can be coordinated consistently in space.
Building

BUILDING

Structures the construction project into clearly identifiable building volumes so that discipline models, storeys, and evaluations can be coordinated by building.
Storey

STOREY

Establishes the shared vertical structure so that spaces and components can be assigned to the same building level across all discipline models.
Survey reference point

SURVEY-REF

Provides a binding position and height reference so that discipline models align correctly and can be set out accurately on site.
Gross volumes

SPACE-GROSS

Provides a consistent basis for massing studies, area and volume evaluations, and urban design decisions.
Interior spaces

SPACE-INT

Links the room programme, area verification, and discipline planning so that use, sizing, and technical requirements can be coordinated for each space.
Exterior spaces

SPACE-EXT

Makes usable exterior areas measurable for area verification, use planning, and coordination between the building and its surroundings.
Lift

SPACE-ELEVATOR

Enables the occupied area to be assigned by storey so that area verification can be maintained correctly.
Air spaces

SPACE-AIR

Prevents non-occupiable volumes from being counted as floor area while providing a spatial reference for building services.
Parking spaces

SPACE-PARK

Enables traceable parking verification and reliable area and traffic planning from the building design phase onward.
Wall lining (usable space)

SPACE-VORSATZ

Makes space and floor-area loss verifiable early so that rooms, especially sanitary spaces, can be sized adequately.
Exterior wall

ARC-WALL-EXT

Exterior walls provide the basis for area and quantity take-off, building physics, and facade coordination.
Balcony (Rough)

ARC-SLAB-BALCONY

Makes exterior space, the structural concept, and the building envelope jointly verifiable early on and supports reliable permitting and cost decisions.
Base slab (Rough)

ARC-SLAB-BASE

Makes the building support and load transfer into the ground spatially verifiable early and provides design certainty for basements, waterproofing, and excavation.
Floor slab (Rough)

ARC-SLAB-FLOOR

Defines the load-bearing separation between storeys early and provides design certainty for room heights, structure, and building services.
Flat roof (Rough)

ARC-ROOF-FLAT

Makes the structural concept and building enclosure spatially verifiable early and provides design certainty for levels, build-ups, and permitting.
Footing (Rough)

ARC-FOOTING

Makes the space and location required to transfer loads into the ground verifiable early and prevents conflicts with basements, services, and excavation.
Non-load-bearing interior wall

ARC-WALL-INT

Makes the spatial layout reliably verifiable early on and provides the basis for fire, acoustic, and interior-fit-out coordination.
Load-bearing interior wall

ARC-WALL-INT-LB

Makes load transfer and space separation jointly verifiable early on and provides a reliable basis for structural, fire, and acoustic coordination.
Column (Rough)

ARC-COLUMN

Makes point load transfers spatially verifiable early and prevents conflicts with the spatial layout, facade, and building services.
Pitched roof (Rough)

ARC-ROOF-PITCH

Makes the roof form and structural concept spatially verifiable early on and supports reliable permitting and coordination decisions.
Stair (Rough)

ARC-STAIR

Rough stair geometry for design, coordination, and quantity take-off.
Beam / girder (Rough)

ARC-BEAM

Makes load-transfer zones visible early and prevents conflicts between the structure, spatial concept, and building services.
Fall protection / railing

ARC-RAILING

Simplified geometry for spatial planning and assessment of permanent and temporary fall protection.
Exterior window

ARC-WINDOW-EXT

Ensures daylight, ventilation, and views and provides a verifiable basis for facade and building-physics design.
Exterior door

ARC-DOOR-EXT

Ensures functional building access and provides the basis for escape-route, facade, and building-physics design.
Opening / recess (architecture)

ARC-OPENING-VOID

Secures the required routes for services and installations and prevents uncoordinated penetrations between architecture, structure, and building services.
Interior window

ARC-WINDOW-INT

Ensures daylight transfer between interior spaces and provides a verifiable basis for spatial and acoustic design.
Interior door

ARC-DOOR-INT

Ensures functional connections between spaces and provides the basis for escape-route, fire, and acoustic design.
Shading device

ARC-SHADING

Makes external sun protection visible in the model so location, type, and shading are recorded for facade planning and thermal simulation.
Suspended ceiling

ARC-CEILING

Ensures coordinated room heights, ceiling design, and building services.
Interior floor build-up

ARC-FLOOR-COV

Provides a reliable basis for level coordination, joint design, tendering, and quantity take-off for interior finishes. Early design without a modelled covering: FloorCovering on the interior space.
Exterior floor covering

ARC-FLOOR-COV-EXT

Makes exterior finishes verifiable in detail design for quantities, joints, and tendering. Early planning without a modelled covering: FloorCovering (AOF) on the exterior space.
Facade cladding

ARC-WALL-CLAD-EXT

Enables separate design and quantity take-off of the facade surface and improves coordination with connections and openings.
Tapered insulation / roof build-up

ARC-ROOF-DRAIN

Shows early how much build-up height the roof and balcony fall requires. The building height is then fixed for the permit, and pipes in the foundation can be connected to the outlets.
Furniture

FURN

Reveals early whether spaces can actually be furnished for their intended use and are adequately sized.
Built-in furniture / kitchen (Rough)

ARC-FURN-BUILTIN

Shows early how much space the kitchen and built-in cabinets need and where the connections sit. Shop and installation design can check dimensions and connections against this.
Interior wall cladding

ARC-WALL-CLAD

Enables room-specific design and quantity take-off of surface finishes for tendering and interior-fit-out coordination.
Exclusion zone

STR-EXCL-ZONE

Keeps required structural volumes clear and prevents costly clashes with architecture and building services.
Opening / recess (structural)

STR-OPENING-VOID

Transfers approved voids into the structural model as binding information so that clashes are avoided and penetrations can be built as planned.
Provision for void

MEP-PROV-VOID

Reserves penetrations in time so structure and building services can be coordinated without later core drilling.
Pipe (schematic)

MEP-SCH-PIPE

Reserves main pipework routes in the initial phase and reduces later clashes.
Surface geometry

SURVEY-SURFACE

Provides existing and designed terrain so that connections to the building and earth quantities can be planned in coordination.
Tree

LAN-TREE

Makes decisions on protection, removal, and new planting spatially verifiable so that the building and external works account for the tree inventory.
Building-law parcels

ARC-PARCEL

Shows early which cadastral parcels the project affects and supports alignment of the planning perimeter and permitting process.
Duct (schematic)

MEP-SCH-DUCT

Reserves main ventilation routes in the initial phase and reduces later clashes.
Humus

LAN-HUMUS

Makes humus quantities verifiable early for cost, so that stripping, reinstatement, and surplus do not appear only at tender.
Cable tray (schematic)

MEP-SCH-TRAY

Reserves main electrical routes in the initial phase and reduces later clashes.
Surrounding buildings

ARC-UMG-NEIGHBOR

Represents neighbouring buildings as simple volumes so objection-relevant effects (shadow, views, setbacks) can be checked and documented in the stakeholder dialogue.
Plant space (schematic)

MEP-SCH-EQUIP

Reserves sufficient plant-room space in the initial phase and prevents conflicts with other uses.
Retention volume

LAN-RETENTION

Makes retention volume assignable to catchments and the sizing against heavy rain traceable.
Downpipe

MEP-DOWNPIPE

Secures roof and balcony drainage by coordinating routes, connections, and slab penetrations.
Beam / girder detailed

STR-BEAM

Enables reliable coordination of load transfer, penetrations, and connections through to execution.
Site setup object

ARC-SITE-LOG

Makes the space requirements and sequence of site logistics alignable early and prevents conflicts during construction.
Column detailed

STR-COLUMN

Ensures coordinated load transfer and clash-free placement of adjacent components through to execution.
Detail reference

ARC-DET-REF

Makes it spatially verifiable where standard details apply and reveals missing or conflicting detail assignments early.
Decision volume

ARC-DEC-VOL

Makes it spatially verifiable where a decision applies and whether it is still open, approved, or superseded.
Footing detailed

STR-FOOTING

Provides a reliable basis for coordinating load transfer, excavation, and utility lines.
Installation access path

ARC-INSTALL-PATH

Ensures large equipment can be transported to its installation location without clashes.
Wall detailed

STR-WALL

Enables reliable coordination of load transfer, openings, and connections through to execution.
Coordination zone

ARC-COORD-ZONE

Clearly assigns spatial review areas to coordination meetings and prevents unclear responsibilities.
Floor slab detailed

STR-SLAB-FLOOR

Enables reliable coordination of load transfer, openings, and cast-in items through to execution.
Base slab detailed

STR-SLAB-BASE

Ensures coordinated planning of load transfer, waterproofing, and penetrations through to execution.
Planning constraint

ARC-CONSTRAINT

Makes external requirements spatially verifiable from an early stage and supports quality assurance when checking the design against protection, hazard, and permitting requirements.
Flat roof detailed

STR-SLAB-ROOF

Ensures coordinated planning of load transfer, falls, roof build-up, and penetrations.
Maintenance space

ARC-MAINT-SPACE

Ensures plant remains permanently accessible and can be maintained without spatial conflicts.
Movement clearance

ARC-MOVEMENT-CLEARANCE

Makes the areas that must remain clear for accessibility spatially verifiable so conflicts with building elements and furniture are found before the permit submission.
Stair detailed

STR-STAIR

Ensures early coordination of the structure, level transitions, and usable flight geometry.
Turning radius

ARC-TURN-RAD

Demonstrates that vehicles can safely use the planned access routes and manoeuvring areas.
Alteration area

ARC-UMBAU-PER

Makes planned and completed alterations spatially and chronologically traceable in the overall model.
Ramp detailed

STR-RAMP

Ensures early coordination of the structure, level transitions, and required gradient.
Drywall reinforcement zone

ARC-DRYWALL-REINF

Makes required fixing support spatially checkable before tendering and construction and prevents subsequent daywork.
Reinforcement

STR-REBAR

Provides unambiguous steel schedules and placing information to reduce execution errors.
Edge strip

STR-EDGE-STRIP

Ensures formwork terminations can be specified, coordinated, and executed unambiguously.
Chiller

MEP-CHILLER

Secures cooling supply by coordinating capacity, plant footprint, and service connections early.
Cooling tower / free cooler

MEP-COOL-TOWER

Secures heat rejection by coordinating capacity, location, structure, acoustics, and water management.
Backup generator

MEP-ELEC-GEN

Secures standby power by coordinating capacity, location, fuel supply, and exhaust routing.
Electrical distribution board

MEP-ELEC-DIST

Represents the distribution hierarchy so loads, feeders, plant space, and accessibility can be coordinated.
Transformer

MEP-TRANSFORMER

Secures the required voltage level by coordinating load, plant space, cooling, and protection requirements.
Uninterruptible power supply

MEP-UPS

Secures critical loads by coordinating autonomy, loads, plant space, and cooling.
Boiler / water heater

MEP-BOILER

Secures heat supply by coordinating capacity, plant footprint, flue route, and service connections early.
District heat substation

MEP-HEAT-EX

Clarifies thermal system separation so substation capacity, connections, and space requirements can be coordinated.
Compressed air compressor

MEP-COMPRESSOR

Secures compressed-air supply by coordinating capacity, location, acoustic protection, and connections.
Gas pressure regulator

MEP-GAS-REG

Clarifies the gas supply interface so pressure level, metering, safety distances, and pipe connections can be coordinated.
Fan

MEP-FAN

Secures the required airflow by coordinating duty, duct connections, acoustic protection, and maintenance access.
Tank / separator

MEP-TANK

Secures the required storage volume by coordinating location, structure, connections, and maintenance access.
Pump

MEP-PUMP

Secures flow and pressure by coordinating duty, connections, location, and maintenance access.
Unitary equipment / monoblock

MEP-UNITARY

Secures compact plant operation by coordinating footprint, service connections, and maintenance zones together.
Communications appliance

MEP-COMMS

Fixes communication device locations so coverage, connectivity, power supply, and finishes can be coordinated.
Chilled ceiling / beam

MEP-COOL-BEAM

Secures room conditioning and coordinates output, water connections, condensation risk, and ceiling layout.
Radiator

MEP-SPACE-HEATER

Secures room heat delivery by coordinating output, connections, placement, and clearances.
Air terminal / grille

MEP-AIR-TERM

Enables air-distribution verification and coordination with ceiling layout and occupied zones.
Air terminal box

MEP-AIR-BOX

Enables demand-based airflow control and secures installation and maintenance space above the ceiling.
Light fixture

MEP-LIGHT

Enables lighting verification and coordination of ceiling layout, power supply, and maintenance access.
Socket / data outlet

MEP-OUTLET

Fixes connection points so use, service routes, and finishes can be coordinated.
Switch

MEP-SWITCH

Fixes control and switching points so electrical function, finishes, and user access can be coordinated.
Damper

MEP-DAMPER

Fixes air isolation and control points so airflow, fire safety, and maintenance access can be coordinated.
Sanitary terminal

MEP-SANITARY

Fixes sanitary fixtures so use, water connections, drainage, and space requirements can be coordinated.
Waste terminal

MEP-WASTE

Fixes drainage points so falls, pipe routes, and sanitary fixtures can be coordinated.
Gas outlet

MEP-GAS-TERM

Fixes gas draw-off points so pipe routes, isolation, and appliance connections can be coordinated.
Fire suppression terminal

MEP-FIRE-TERM

Enables verification of fire-suppression coverage and coordination of the required clearances.
Valve / manifold

MEP-VALVE

Fixes isolation and control points to support operation, hydraulic balancing, and maintenance.
Smoke detector / alarm

MEP-ALARM

Enables verification of fire detection coverage and coordinated placement with finishes and ceilings.
Sensor

MEP-SENSOR

Fixes measurement points so controls, monitoring, and accessibility can be coordinated.
Actuator

MEP-ACTUATOR

Makes control functions coordinable so controls, power supply, and maintenance access are secured.

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