BIM Collaboration Format (BCF)

BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) is an open standard format officially endorsed by buildingSMART. BCF is used by many structural, MEP and model checker programs to add comments, screenshots, camera position and 3D cutting planes to IFC models.

BCF-based data exchange is particularly suited for identifying overlaps (e.g. collisions, modeling and other mistakes) when several models from different applications are combined in one program (e.g. ARCHICAD or a model checker).

ARCHICAD’s Mark-Up feature directly supports BCF-based data exchange. For example, if you are exchanging a model in IFC format, you can import a BCF (BIM Collaboration Format) file, whose contents are converted into Mark-Up Entries in ARCHICAD. After adding your own Mark-up changes, you can export it again as a BCF file. The mark-up entries will keep track of the elements referenced in the BCF file (with their IFC global unique identifier, IFC GlobalId), even through multiple merge cycles. It can include an attached view, which is not merely a screenshot: it includes camera position and 3D cutting planes.

Note: Solibri Model Checker and Tekla BIMsight support BCF as a native function. Revit supports the BCF workflow via 3rd party Add-Ins such as the Kubus Add-In.