Generate Graph from BIM Model(ARCH)

Generate Graph from BIM Model(ARCH)#

The following contains a step by step guide and a list of requirements to gerenrate a graph from a basic BIM model:

Basic BIM Requirements#

1.The following elements must be modeled in the BIM model:#

  • Floors

  • Walls

  • Ceilings

  • Doors

2. Rooms and Room Bounding#

  • All rooms must be properly located in the model.

  • Rooms must be created using the room tool so they can be exported to IFC.

  • When creating walls, make sure the “Room Bounding” option is checked in the wall properties panel.

Important:#

Walls must be created separately for each space (room). Avoid using continuous walls that spans across multiple rooms. This is to make sure that adjacencies are detected correctly.

3. Required Room Attributes#

Each room must include the following attributes:

  • Room Name

  • Area

  • Volume

  • Occupancy

4. Export to IFC#

  • Export the model using [IFC 4x3] (https://timmcginley.github.io/41936/Workflows/IFC4X3Export.html)

  • Make sure you are using the latest version of the Revit/IFC exporter.

  • Follow the instructions below to ensure the IFC export and room attributes are set up correctly.

ifc 1 ifc 2

Graph Specification#

Purpose of the Graph#

The graph is a simplified representation of the building used for early-stage reasoning and interdisciplinary exchange. The graph:

  • focuses on spaces and their relationships

  • does not represent detailed geometry

  • acts as an intermediate layer between basic BIM models and later detailed design

  • is generated automatically from the IFC file

Graph Structure Overview#

  • Nodes represent spaces (rooms)

  • Edges represent relationships between spaces

  • Attributes store key information needed for analysis

Nodes (Spaces)#

Each space(room) in the BIM model becomes one node in the graph.

Nodes represent:

  • A functional space (defined by the room name)

  • The attributes associated with that space

Edges (Relationships)#

Edges represent direct adjacency between spaces. An edge is created when two rooms share a wall or boundary in the BIM model

Edges represent:

  • Which spaces belong to which level (containment)

  • Which spaces are directly connected

  • Edges are undirected (adjacency works both ways)

Graph Visulaization#

To see the graph in the graph viewer, clone the GitHub repository ABDGraph GitHub repository to your computer and follow the instructions in the README to run it locally.

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