From IFC to IFCX: A Guide to the BIM Data Standard Transition

A problem that has plagued BIM practitioners for 30 years

      Anyone working in BIM consulting has probably had this experience: at project closeout, the client asks for an IFC file. You export it from Revit or Tekla. The file opens, the model displays, but after the other party imports it into another platform, every component type has become a "generic building element," half the property sets are gone, and the reinforcement information for precast components is nowhere to be found.

      The file is technically "valid" but semantically empty. This is not an isolated phenomenon; it is a collective pain point the entire industry has endured for 30 years. IFC—the international standard born in 1997—has carried all the construction industry's hopes for data interoperability, and also an increasingly heavy technical debt.

      In August 2026, buildingSMART International issued a press release in London announcing that the IFCX (what the industry calls "IFC 5.0") Core and Modularization Final Project Plan had been approved. This means the biggest generational change in BIM data standards in 30 years has officially entered the countdown to implementation.

      For a company like Zhuwei Architectural Technology, whose main business is BIM consulting and prefabricated detailed design, the impact of this goes far deeper than changing a file extension.

What exactly does IFCX change?

      First, a clarification on naming. The Chinese-speaking world habitually calls it "IFC 5.0," the official press release uses "IFCX," and what some people call "BIMWS" is actually something else entirely (the openCDE API). The naming confusion itself shows that this is still being finalized. But the technical direction is already clear, with five core changes:

      First, the architecture moves from monolithic to modular. IFC4x is one enormous definition file; IFCX is split into "core + domain extension modules," so software only needs to implement the parts it requires. For prefabricated BIM, this means the data definitions for PC components can evolve independently, without waiting for the entire standard to be updated together.

      Second, the definition language changes from EXPRESS to TypeSpec. EXPRESS was born in the 1980s, has a steep learning curve, and its toolchain is aging. TypeSpec is a modern interface definition language with an active developer ecosystem and a low barrier to entry.

      Third, the serialization format changes from STEP to JSON. The file extension changes from .ifc to .ifcx. JSON is the lingua franca of the Web era, naturally suited to API transmission and programmatic parsing, and better suited for consumption by AI/machine learning pipelines.

      Fourth, component-level updates are supported. In the past, changing a single property required re-exporting the entire file; IFCX allows modifying only specific components while leaving the rest untouched. This is enormously significant for multi-party collaborative projects—when the structural consultant changes beam reinforcement, there is no need to re-export the architectural model as well.

      Fifth, multi-author distributed collaboration. IFC4x is essentially "one person writes it and sends the file"; IFCX is designed so that multiple people can each modify their own modules on the same dataset, with the server serving as the single source of truth.

In short: for the past 30 years, the passing grade for IFC was "can it be opened"; for the next 10 years, the passing grade becomes "can it be understood and called upon."

The service layer is already running: openCDE API

      IFCX governs what the data itself looks like; openCDE governs how that data is accessed. This is another track buildingSMART is advancing in parallel, and it is moving faster than IFCX.

      openCDE consists of four API components: the Foundation API handles version control and authentication; the Documents API handles document publication and retrieval and reached final standard status in December 2023; the BCF API handles the flow of coordination issues between software applications; and the bSDD API handles data dictionary queries, having hosted more than 300 dictionaries as of May 2025.

      All four interfaces are publicly and freely available. Multiple cloud platforms have already integrated with the Documents API, and BCF has been adopted by more than 100 BIM software products. In other words, the service layer is not theoretical—it is already deployed infrastructure.

      For BIM consulting firms, this means future project delivery may no longer be "sending a several-hundred-MB IFC file" but rather "giving the client an API endpoint to query component data on demand." Data transforms from a static file into a live service, and the consultant's role shifts from "the one who delivers files" to "the one who manages data."

Where the push comes from: policy and technical debt driving change together

      Standards never change because of technology alone; the real accelerator is usually government mandates.

      Singapore's CORENET X platform has required IFC-format submissions since October 2025, with the goal of algorithmic automated compliance and fire-safety review. Dubai Municipality has mandated IFC for BIM submissions since January 2024. Finland's new building law incorporates a requirement for IFC 4.3.2 or later. Public procurement in the UK, the Nordic countries, and Germany increasingly explicitly requires openBIM delivery via ISO 16739.

      The domestic situation has its own particularities. The national BIM standards issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) since 2012 explicitly designate IFC as the data storage format. GB/T 45393.3-2025, "Information technology—Building information modeling (BIM) software—Part 3: Model view definition," released in April 2025, further standardizes the implementation path for MVD in China. Local practices such as Anhui Province's 2025 BIM data exchange guidelines and Shenzhen's building BIM platform are also accelerating.

      On technical debt, buildingSMART's own summary is harsher than outside criticism: IFC 4.3 has more than 1,300 entities with over 300 documented exceptions; completing the MVD-based certification process takes about 5 years; and it was not until 2024 that the first batch of sample files fully compliant with the IFC4 standard was issued. The fact that the standards body itself had no compliant samples shows that the old path has run its course.

Prefabricated BIM: early beneficiary of IFCX or bystander?

      One of Zhuwei's core businesses is PC detailed design. In the prefabricated sector, IFC's problems are especially pronounced:

      The data density of precast components is far higher than that of cast-in-place structures. A composite slab contains dozens of attribute dimensions: geometry, prestressed tendon layout, lifting point positions, production batch, transport identification, installation sequence, and more. Under the IFC4x framework, this information is often lost during exchange because the MVD definitions are incomplete.

      IFCX's modular design is precisely the right remedy. Domain extension modules can define data structures specifically for precast components, without waiting for the core standard to cover every scenario. Component-level updates also mean that when a factory modifies the production parameters of a particular slab, only that one component needs updating—there is no need to retransmit the entire model.

      The reality, however, is that data exchange in domestic prefabricated projects still relies heavily on a combination of DWG and Excel. Tekla-to-Revit interoperability and BIM-model-to-factory-MES integration currently mostly use proprietary interfaces or intermediate databases rather than the IFC standard channel. For IFCX to truly benefit the prefabricated industry, software vendors and factory-side systems need to keep pace.

      Our assessment: prefabricated BIM is one of the sub-sectors where IFCX is most likely to deliver real value earliest, but from standard release to engineering implementation there is still a 1–3 year tooling catch-up period. During this time, what companies can do is get their data governance right—ensure their models are semantically complete and their attributes standardized, so that no matter how the format changes, the cost of data migration is minimized.

What BIM consulting firms can do now

      IFCX is still in the alpha stage, and the official documentation explicitly states it is "not for production use." But that does not mean it can be ignored entirely. Here are several things that can be started today:

      1. Specify the IFC version number in project contracts. The phrase "supports IFC" is too vague. IFC2x3, IFC4, and IFC4.3 are not freely interchangeable; the exporting and importing parties must align on the same version. It is recommended to state this clearly in the BIM Execution Plan (BEP).

      2. Use IDS to define information requirements. IDS (Information Delivery Specification) 1.0 became an official buildingSMART standard in June 2024. It turns a project's information delivery requirements from natural-language documents into machine-verifiable clauses. Before model delivery, check fields, units, and value ranges against the IDS item by item—this practice does not need to wait for the new standard to land.

      3. Monitor the implementation progress of the openCDE API. The Documents API is already a final standard, and the BCF API covers more than 100 software products. If your project uses a cloud platform for collaboration, you can start watching whether the platform has integrated openCDE. Once integration is complete, cross-platform issue tracking and document management will be much smoother.

      4. Incorporate "semantic completeness" into internal quality control. Regardless of which IFC version is used, the most common delivery problem is empty semantics—components all become generic elements after export. Add an item to the internal QC process: after exporting IFC, spot-check whether the types and properties of key components are fully preserved.

      5. Do not rush to switch toolchains. IFC4.3 remains the latest version available for production, and most projects require staying on this specification. There is no timeline yet for IFCX production availability. Now is the stage for "follow and observe + do good data governance," not for "full-scale migration."

Conclusion: fast opportunities within a slow variable

      Standards transitions are a classic slow variable. From the release of the technology roadmap in 2020 to the approval of the project plan in 2026, it took 6 years and 4 months. From project plan approval to official standard release, software adoption, and engineering implementation, it may take another 3–5 years.

      But fast opportunities hide within slow variables. Whoever first builds data governance capabilities compliant with the new standard will be positioned for the next round of government and overseas project tenders. buildingSMART's press release has already publicly solicited sponsors—companies that contribute funding to standards development can offer input before the final draft. Whoever writes the rules, the benefits lean their way.

      For Zhuwei, we will continue to track the technical progress of IFCX and openCDE, and gradually test the capability boundaries of the new standard in actual projects. The value of BIM consulting has never been just modeling—it is about making data flow to the right people, at the right time, in the right format. The standards transition is precisely the window for redefining that value.

Further reading

      This article drew on an in-depth analysis from the "Liu Xiaohui MEd" WeChat public account, which provides a detailed review across multiple dimensions including standards evolution, naming clarification, and domestic and international software certification. Recommended reading: "IFC 5.0 and BIMWS: The Next 10 Years of OpenBIM"

      buildingSMART official IFC5 development repository: https://github.com/buildingSMART/IFC5-development/

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Please do not reproduce without authorization.

When reproducing, please cite the source: Zhuwei Architectural Technology

      Zhuwei Architectural Technology is a new-type technical service enterprise whose main business covers architectural design optimization, BIM design consulting, and prefabricated building design consulting. The team consists of key technical staff from design institutes, former senior managers, BIM engineers, and prefabricated detailed design personnel, providing full-process consulting services including design optimization with construction drawings, BIM consulting, electrical detailed design, and prefabricated design consulting and detailing.

      Architectural design optimization business: positioned as an extension and supplement to real estate developers' design management, guided by the philosophy of "professionalism creates value" and "quality first," exercising economic, reasonable, and safe control over key design stages to achieve the goals of "cost reduction," "drawing optimization," and "value enhancement."

      BIM design consulting business: cooperating with major state-owned, central, and private enterprises, covering all stages of BIM consulting, design, construction, and operations and maintenance. High-quality residential design, refined site design, and digital construction reduce errors and improve quality, saving costs and ensuring quality for construction units. Cooperating with mainstream software vendors on construction-phase management, applying BIM models to logistics and site management (LOD500 depth).

      Prefabricated design consulting business: using Tekla software for full-process PC detailed design, with the ability to adjust spatial parameters and connection methods in the BIM model to avoid construction conflicts, achieving digital delivery according to Industry 4.0 standards. Providing PC component data (dimensions, rebar spacing, etc.) and using IoT to support production, warehousing, transport, and installation. Compared with traditional PC detailing companies, we provide system-level solutions, especially in the logistics warehousing and high-rise building sectors.

      The company's expert team comes from large design institutes, with deep technical foundations and rich experience in dual-track design and optimization; its technical capability and control level are at the industry's leading position.

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The views expressed are the author's own  Copyright © Zhuwei Architectural Technology

Reproduction without authorization is prohibited

Please credit the source when reposting: Zhuwei Architectural Technology

      Zhuwei Architectural Technology is a new-type technical services company specializing in integrated design optimization, BIM consulting and prefabricated construction design consulting. Our team brings together senior engineers from leading design institutes, former executives of real-estate companies, BIM engineers and prefabrication engineers, delivering integrated design optimization, refined drawing review, BIM consulting with MEP detailing, and prefabricated design services.

      Design optimization consulting: Positioned as an extension and complement to the design management of real-estate developers, we focus on consulting and optimization for civil buildings. Across the whole process — or at key stages required by the client — we control the economy, rationality and safety of the design, eliminating unnecessary cost while measurably improving drawing quality, achieving "lower cost, higher efficiency".

      BIM consulting: Through digital construction technology we help designers reduce errors and improve quality in the design phase, help contractors save cost and plan high-quality MEP installation in the construction phase, and extend BIM models into facility management for the operation phase — in collaboration with mainstream software vendors.

      Prefabricated design consulting: Whole-process design on BIM platforms, using Revit and Tekla for PC detailing. Component geometry and reinforcement are linked parametrically — what you see is what you get. We deliver Industry 4.0-ready drawings with cut-length data for every rebar, and IoT-enabled support for production, storage, transport and installation of PC components.

      Our expert team comes from leading design institutes, with deep technical grounding and extensive experience in dual-track design and optimization; its technical capability and control are industry-leading.

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