Application and extension of the IFC standard in construction cost estimating for tendering in China

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possibilities and methods of applying the IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) standard, i.e. the mainstream standard of BIM (Building Information Modeling) data to the construction cost estimating for tendering in China. Through analyzing the existing standards and the IFC standard, the problems of using the IFC standard are identified and the solutions are explored. An information requirement model for construction cost estimating for tendering in China was established, which includes seven aspects of information entities. Then each aspect of the information was expressed by using the IFC standard to verify the completeness of the IFC standard and to establish the IFC-based information model. As a conclusion, the IFC standard can be used to express the information for the construction cost estimating for tendering in China as a whole, but some extensions in the form of proxy elements and property sets are needed. The established information model can be applied to the development of a construction cost estimating software.