1
Design
- clashes found in model
- options in numbers
- single source of truth
BIM: the building as data
Why BIM, what to get from a model, how to do it and how to make working with the model part of everyday processes
BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a building database. In the open IFC format you read its data without a design-software licence - with a viewer, your own script or AI.
Contents
00 · Introduction
What BIM brings
BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a building database. Every wall, door or pipe in it carries data - dimensions, material, fire rating, manufacturer, warranty. The 3D model is its graphical form, on which everyone involved designs, builds and operates the building.
The value comes from reading data from the model: quantities without retyping numbers, data checks before an error becomes a problem on site, input for facility management, or an answer to a question asked in plain language.
This guide shows what exactly you can get out of a model, how it works technically, and how to make working with the model part of processes your company already runs.
What you get from a model
- quantity take-offs and budget input straight from the model,
- an automatic check that the model contains what it should,
- an overview of changes between model versions and their impact on quantities,
- a building passport for operation and maintenance,
- answers to questions about the model in plain language,
- data connected to your systems - ERP, asset management, dashboards.
Finder: what are you dealing with?
| Situation | Where to find the answer |
|---|---|
| We have models, but nobody reads them | What to get from a model → |
| We retype quantities into spreadsheets by hand | Quantity take-off → |
| We don't know if the designer's model is complete | Data check → |
| What changed in the new model version? | Version comparison → |
| We don't have a licence for the design software | The open IFC format → |
| We want to ask the model like a colleague | AI on the model → |
| How do we make it part of everyday work? | BIM in processes → |
01 · Principle
BIM is a building database
Besides its shape, every element of the model carries information: material, dimensions, fire rating, manufacturer, price, schedule or warranty. The model becomes the single source of truth about the building, read by people and software alike.
The difference from drawings is fundamental. A person reads information from a drawing; software can read it from a model. That is why it can be calculated, checked or transferred to another system automatically - for hundreds or thousands of elements at once, and again with every new version.
Quantity take-offs, schedules, budgets, energy balances and facility-management input are all read from the model.
Key takeaways
- A BIM model is a building database; 3D is one of its views.
- Element data are read by people and software alike.
- The value comes from using the data.
02 · Benefits
Why BIM and how it helps
BIM saves money and risk where information gets lost today: between disciplines, between design and construction, and between construction and operation. That is why investors, facility managers and developers ask for it voluntarily.
Fewer errors and clashes
Clashes between structure, HVAC and services are found in the model, where fixing them costs least.
Accurate take-offs and budgets
Quantities and budgets are generated straight from the model - quickly and without retyping numbers.
Operation and maintenance
After completion the model serves as a building passport: what is where, what changed, warranties and inspections.
Better decisions
Options, energy balances and costs can be compared before anything is built.
Single source of truth
All disciplines work on one model and the same version of the data.
Access to contracts
Firms that master BIM can bid for public and large private projects where it is a requirement.
BIM is becoming the standard
BIM has been mandatory on centrally procured public projects in the UK since 2016 and on Italian public works above €2 million since 2025. In Czechia, Act No. 330/2025 Coll. requires it from 1 January 2027 for larger buildings of the State and regions. The number of models will grow quickly - and with it the opportunity to use the data they contain.
Key takeaways
- The biggest savings come where information passes between people and project stages.
- A model pays off over the whole life of a building, from design to operation.
- Models are multiplying; those who can read them have the edge.
03 · Data
IFC: an open format you can read without a licence
A BIM model can be exported to IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) - an open, vendor-neutral format (ISO 16739, openBIM by buildingSMART). IFC can be read without a design-software licence: with a free viewer, your own script or an automated process.
What is inside IFC
IFC describes a building as a list of objects with a type, properties and quantities. A wall is an IfcWall object, its properties sit in property sets and its computed dimensions in quantity sets:
| What | Where in IFC | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Element type | IfcWall, IfcDoor, IfcSpace… | external wall |
| Properties | Pset_WallCommon | FireRating, IsExternal, LoadBearing |
| Quantities | Qto_WallBaseQuantities | NetSideArea, NetVolume |
| Location | IfcBuildingStorey, IfcSpace | 2nd floor, room 2.14 |
| Identity | GlobalId | a unique ID to find the element in the next version |
This means every IFC model can be processed the same way, regardless of the program it came from - for example with a Python script using the IfcOpenShell library.
Data quality decides
IFC carries only what is filled in in the model. So it pays to check, as soon as you receive a model, that it really contains the properties you will work with - see the data check in the next chapter.
Key takeaways
- The data in a model are accessible without a design-software licence.
- IFC has a fixed structure: type, properties, quantities, location, ID.
- What can be read in a structured way can be automated.
04 · Use
What to get from a model, and how
All tasks below follow the same principle: the IFC model is read by software, rules or calculations are applied to the data, and the result is delivered where you need it. Once set up, the process runs again with every new model version.
- 01
Quantity take-off and budget input
The software selects elements by type and properties (say, all load-bearing external walls), adds up their quantities and groups them by storey, material or room. With a new model version you get the take-off again in one run.
Output:a table for the budget or a request for quotation
- 02
Data and completeness check
Rules describe what the model must contain - for example, that every door has a fire rating and every room a number and use. The check goes through all elements, so the designer knows exactly what to add.
Output:a list of missing and suspicious values, also in BCF for design programs
- 03
Comparing model versions
Using unique element IDs, two versions of a model are compared: what was added, what disappeared and what changed in dimensions or properties.
Output:an overview of changes and their impact on quantities and budget
- 04
A building passport for facility management
At handover, rooms, equipment, manufacturers, warranties and inspection intervals are extracted from the model. If the model is updated with every change, the passport stays accurate for years.
Output:data for the asset-management system
- 05
Reports and connection to other systems
Model data can be sent via API to a dashboard, ERP or your own applications - for example construction progress by storey or lettable areas.
Output:ongoing reports and summaries for management and tenders
Key takeaways
- One principle: read → calculate or check → deliver.
- The quickest wins are tasks that repeat with every model version.
- The result should land where people work with it - a spreadsheet, the design program or the FM system.
05 · AI
AI can query the model too
A machine-readable model works with artificial intelligence too. You ask about the IFC data in plain language, like asking a colleague who knows every element of the building.
Examples of questions that can be answered from a model:
- “How many fire doors are there, and where is signage missing?”
- “List all rooms under 8 m² without a window.”
- “Which elements have no manufacturer or material filled in?”
- “Sum the tiled area by storey.”
Answers are reliable when AI turns the question into a query over structured IFC data. The answer then includes the list of elements it came from, so it can be verified. AI can also summarise results quickly - for an investor, a tender or operations.
AI as an assistant
AI outputs need checking and responsibility stays with people - as with any other AI automation. The value is speed: an answer across the whole model in moments.
06 · Processes
How to make BIM part of your processes
The biggest benefit comes from working with the model as a normal part of steps your company already takes - some of them then run on their own.
| When | What runs automatically | Who benefits |
|---|---|---|
| The designer sends a new model version | completeness check, comparison with the previous version, updated take-off | investor, cost estimator, site supervision |
| Tender preparation | quantities and area overview from the model for the tender documents | client, purchasing |
| During construction | progress by storey and discipline in a dashboard | project management |
| Handover | data check for operation, passport import into asset management | facility manager |
| Operation and changes | model update after a change, inspection and maintenance plan from the data | facility management |
How to start
07 · Working together
How we help
The value of a model comes from working with the data inside. We get your BIM data moving and connect it with automation and AI.
Reading and checking IFC
Machine processing of models, data completeness and quality checks, detection of inconsistencies - with no dependence on one CAD package.
Automation on the model
Take-offs, reports and checks that run on their own - IFC in, the overview you need out.
AI querying of the data
Ask the model in plain language and get fast, summarised answers - with human review of the outputs.
Integration and digital twin
Connecting BIM data to your systems, building operation and dashboards - so the model lives on after completion.
Where to start
All you need is a model in IFC (or a way to get one) and a clear idea of what you want from it. We help design and build the rest - reading, checking, automation and AI.
Appendix
Glossary
- BCF
- BIM Collaboration Format - an open format for passing comments and issues about a model between programs.
- BIM
- Building Information Modeling - designing, building and operating a building around one shared structured model.
- Building digital twin
- A building model continuously synchronised with operational data after completion (metering, control, maintenance).
- GlobalId
- A unique element identifier in IFC; makes it possible to find an element across model versions.
- IFC
- Industry Foundation Classes - an open format for exchanging BIM data (ISO 16739).
- IfcOpenShell
- An open source library for reading and writing IFC, among others from Python.
- openBIM
- An approach to BIM based on open formats and standards, independent of a single software vendor.
- Property set / Quantity set
- Sets of properties (e.g. fire rating) and quantities (e.g. area, volume) attached to an element in IFC.
Sources
References
- ISO 16739-1:2024. Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) for data sharing in the construction and facility management industries - Part 1: Data schema. ISO.
- buildingSMART International. Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). https://technical.buildingsmart.org/standards/ifc/
- buildingSMART International. BIM Collaboration Format (BCF). https://technical.buildingsmart.org/standards/bcf/
- ISO 19650-1:2018. Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM) - Information management using BIM - Part 1: Concepts and principles. ISO.
- IfcOpenShell. The open source IFC toolkit and geometry engine. https://ifcopenshell.org
- Act No. 330/2025 Coll., on the management of information about buildings and the built environment and on amendments to certain other acts.
- HM Government (2011). Government Construction Strategy. Cabinet Office, London.
- Decreto legislativo 31 marzo 2023, n. 36. Codice dei contratti pubblici, Art. 43, as amended by D.Lgs. 31 dicembre 2024, n. 209.
How to cite this publication (APA 7)Nepor, V. (2026, October 6). BIM: the building as data. What to get from a model and how to use it in processes. Vrealmatic. https://vrealmatic.com/bim
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Want to get value out of your BIM models?
We help read, check and automate data from IFC models - take-offs, completeness checks, reports and AI querying, with no dependence on a single CAD package.