Subtask 1: Dissemination, Communication and Reporting 

Subtask Lead: Gerhard Zucker (AIT), Subtask Co-Lead: James O'Donnell (UCD)

This subtask is supporting the Subtasks 2 to 4 in communication and dissemination of the results achieved. Besides, it includes all management activities required in coordinating the projects’ activities. The following activities will be performed under this task: 

• Establishment of an Annex specific website as the main information portal for various target groups and interested persons in general operated with an internal area for exchange of documents and files amongst the Annex participants during the project duration.  
• Compilation of final reports and electronic files according to the IEA EBC “Management Guidelines for Operating Agents”, including the Annex Status Report, Project Summary Report and Annex Fact Sheet. These reports will adhere to the IEA EBC publication requirements regarding content and layout. 
• A public international workshop will be organized as a special session or satellite workshop within a conference or event at the end of this Annex project to present the findings and disseminate the project results to the interested target groups. 
• Dissemination also aims at scientific papers, articles, and book contributions to publish results obtained in the subtasks. Potentially relevant events for scientific dissemination include BIM World Munich (yearly, November), BIM World Paris (yearly, April), BauSIM (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, 2024 or 2026), BuildingSimulation World Conference (Australia, 2025), BSO (England, 2024 or 2026), simBUILD (Canada/US, 2024 or 2026), eSIM (Canada 2026), USim (Scotland 2026), and the ECPPM European Conference on Products & Process Modelling (Germany, 09/2024 or 2026). 
• Results will be shared with international standardization bodies like CEN TC 442 “Building Information Modelling (BIM)”, buildingSMART International (bsI) or the ASHRAE SPC 205 dealing with part load of HVAC components for building simulation as well as national standardization bodies (like the Austrian ASI). 
• Additional communication, networking and dissemination activities will make use of initiatives and networks on national, European, and international level like the BUILD UP portal [17], the European Construction, built environment and energy efficient building Technology Platform (ECTP) [18] and others. 

Results

The annex team is maintaining a collection of relevant publications for open BIM and its application in energy efficient buildings. You find the references in this Zotero Library.

 

Subtask 2: Use Cases 

Subtask Lead: Jérôme Frisch (RWTH), Subtask Co-Lead: Pieter De Wilde (LTH); James O’Donnell (UCD)

This Subtask focusses on identifying and analysing use cases that contribute to the process definitions in Subtask 3 and the ontologies in the common BIM library from Subtask 4. A focus will be on use cases that connect standard building performance simulation tools with BIM, but the subtask will also be open to other use cases from all life cycle phases of the building, including design, planning, construction, operation, and refurbishment.  

Regarding building performance simulation, BEPS application developers shall be able to focus on their actual tasks of improving accuracy and working on the model design rather than having to build workarounds for missing data definitions and non-standardized property sets. Therefore, it is a goal of this subtask to ensure that the entry point into any simulation pipeline or toolchain is in a well-defined, clean state. 

Furthermore, building operation itself needs to be considered in detail. There is still a clear gap and information loss during the transition from a building project to a running and operational building. Very few original and calibrated as-built models are used in the commissioning phase of the building itself. If any import of data into a facility management system is realized, it is mostly only text- and/or table-based. By sticking to a clearly defined, open BIM-based standard, the building operation phase can benefit from data and simulation results gathered and generated in the design process. Thus, it can ensure the optimal operation of the building according to the (once) planned standards. 

This subtask will follow the following steps 

• Identification of feasible use cases 
• State of the art analysis  
• Identification of software environment, including simulation pipelines and toolchains 
• Existing process definitions and modelling guidelines, gap analysis and need for extensions 
• Potential links to common BIM library 
• Clarification of potential dissemination of use case materials 

Deliverables 

D4	Report on Subtask 2 “Open BIM Building Energy Performance and Building Operation Use Cases” targeting National and international standardization bodies, buildingSMART Domains and Chapters, construction trades and academia

 

Subtask 3: Open BIM Processes & Modelling Guidelines 

Subtask Lead: Pieter De Wilde (LTH), Subtask Co-Lead: Clarice Bleil De Souza (WSA)​; Arianna Fonsati (KTH)​

Open BIM is a collaborative approach that facilitates interoperability between various domains and disciplines throughout their lifespan. This involves digital processes and software-independent information exchange based on buildingSMART standards and services. Subtask 3 therefore covers the necessary processes and modelling guidelines needed to describe the Open BIM process. This project will focus on open standards such as IFC, which is a standardised digital description of the built environment, BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) for communication and Issue Management, Information Delivery Manual (IDM)[21] to define BIM Processes and Exchange Requirements, Model View Definitions (MVD), which is a “Subset” or “Filter” of the IFC schema, and Information Delivery Specification (IDS) for validating IFC models against specific requirements. Typically, BIM use cases serve as the starting point, with an IDM being defined by examining BIM processes to determine who needs what information and when.  

The buidingSmart Data Dictionary (bSDD) [25] can be used to elaborate and publish specific properties and attributes that are not included in the IFC-Schema. Developing a complete ontology for the entire domain such as Building Energy Modeling (BEM) can help to identify missing entities, predefined types, and properties in the IFC schema; therefore, this subtask has a strong link to Subtask 4. The ontology can be used for exchanging requirements alongside processes and is an essential part of an Information Delivery Manual (IDM)[21]. Based on these requirements, one can create a module that builds on existing MVDs, such as IFC 4 Reference View, for IFC import/export, which at the end should be implemented by software vendors. The widely and commonly used MVD is still the outdated IFC2x3 Coordination View. This particular MVD has been implemented by a majority of software vendors within the field of building simulation.  

For feasible use cases in the scope of this project (see Subtask 2) the following steps will be conducted in terms of process definition and modelling guidelines: 

Based on the state-of-the-art research in Subtask 2, this step includes mapping to IFC, exchange requirements, MVD (Model View Definition) if feasible, IDS (Information Delivery Specification) definition and a feedback to Subtask 4 e.g. by using bSDD. 

For feasible use cases in the scope of this project (see Subtask 2) the following steps will be conducted in terms of process definition: 

• Selection of BIM-Use Cases (Subtask 2) 
• State of the art research about ongoing developments (Subtask 2) 
• Where feasible, define an ontology for related Objects, needed to fulfil the use case goals and map that ontology with the IFC Schema 
• Work on IDM, including defining Exchange Requirements (ER) based on the ontology and defining Process Maps and their subprocesses (based on BPMN 2.0) 
• Where feasible, evaluate the creation of an MVD (Model View Definition) based on ERs 
• Define IDS (Information Delivery Specification) 
• Optionally, best practise BCF (BIM Collaboration Format) examples can be defined 

Deliverables 

D5	Report on Subtask 3 “Open BIM Processes & Modelling Guidelines” targeting National and international standardization bodies, buildingSMART Domains and Chapters, construction trades and academia

 

Subtask 4: Reconciliation of Ontologies Towards a Common BIM Library 

Subtask Lead: Steffen Robbi (DFS)​, Subtask Co-Lead: Gerhard Zucker (AIT)​

BIM shifts the communication between human actors to a communication mode based on the exchange of data between software1: one software tool must be able to process the data generated by another software tool. As machines are much more rigid in their communication, the data exchange needs to be specified in much more detail. This subtask therefore collects and harmonizes information (typically IFC properties) that are required at different stages of design, construction, and operation. This includes the location of properties within a BIM model, the information required for specific building parts, the data type for properties, and the validity of a property throughout the building lifecycle. The reconciliation of existing ontologies in the construction sector like Smart Appliances REFerence Ontology (SAREF) [19], BRICK [20] and of course the IFC ontology towards a common BIM library will allow software vendors to implement it, eliminating the need for modelers to agree on these definitions at the beginning of each new building project. 

Subtask 4 will perform the following steps for feasible use cases in the scope of this project: 

• Identification of the library scope based on the state-of-the-art in Subtask 2 
• Matching information requirements with existing standards, first and foremost IFC, but also other regarding ontologies like SAREF [19], BOT, BRICK [20], ECLASS or ETIM 
• Testing and validating the ontology definitions (e.g. IFC PSets and Properties) for practical usability; his may include testing the library with data from building projects 
• After the content has been developed, it is crucial to test and validate the library to ensure that it meets the requirements and use cases identified in the needs analysis. This may include testing the library with real data and use cases. It can also help identify any problems or gaps in the ontology and adjust as necessary. The results of  

Deliverables 

D6	Report on Subtask 4 “Towards a Common BIM Library” targeting National and international standardization bodies, buildingSMART Domains and Chapters, construction trades and academia