A New Graph-based Approach for Building Information Querying

Abstract

Graph is potential for building information storage and querying. A new graphical representation of IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) data has been developed, referred to as IFC-Graph. However, many aspects about querying information from this graphically structured data are not clear. This study aims to explore the querying of information from IFC-Graph by using graph query language. One IFC model was converted into IFC-Graph and used for validation. Experiments were carried out to query individual instances and their relations by using Cypher. The results show that a) IFC-Graph can support building information querying, b) Cypher can be used to query individual instances and the complex relations between instances, such as spatial structure and space boundary. C) Cypher is more efficient in query relations compared with IFC parser. This study can contribute to the development and usage of digital twin by providing an effective way for building information querying.