A Semantics-Based Approach for Simplifying IFC Building Models to Facilitate the Use of BIM Models in GIS

Abstract

Using solid building models, instead of the surface models in City Geography Markup Language (CityGML), can facilitate data integration between Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Geographic Information System (GIS). The use of solid models, however, introduces a problem of model simplification on the GIS side. The aim of this study is to solve this problem by developing a framework for generating simplified solid building models from BIM. In this framework, a set of Level of Details (LoDs) were first defined to suit solid building models—referred to as s-LoD, ranging from s-LoD1 to s-LoD4—and three unique problems in implementing s-LoDs were identified and solved by using a semantics-based approach, including identifying external objects for s-LoD2 and s-LoD3, distinguishing various slabs, and generating valid external walls for s-LoD2 and s-LoD3. The feasibility of the framework was validated by using BIM models, and the result shows that using semantics from BIM can make it easier to convert and simplify building models, which in turn makes BIM information more practical in GIS.