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BIM token taxonomy

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From the PointSav Documentation

The Building Design System organizes into eight primitive token categories anchored to IFC 4.3, establishes Uniclass 2015 as the universal classification floor, and defines 18 core components across universal AEC, console-unique, and workplace-unique categories.

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The platform’s BIM Token Taxonomy organizes the Building Design System into eight primitive categories anchored to the IFC 4.3 (ISO 16739-1:2024) entity hierarchy. This alignment ensures that design-system tokens correspond directly to canonical AEC classification conventions, facilitating direct data exchange across the openBIM ecosystem. Each token carries the three-layer structure described in bim-token-three-layers: Specification, Regulation, and Climate Zone.

[edit]Eight Primitive Token Categories

Primitive IFC Anchor Description
SPATIAL IfcSpatialElement Hierarchy of Site, Building, Storey, and Space.
ELEMENTS IfcBuiltElement Physical components: walls, slabs, doors, windows, etc.
SYSTEMS IfcDistributionElement MEP components: pipes, ducts, and distribution networks.
MATERIALS IfcMaterial Material definitions, layer sets, and constituent sets.
ASSEMBLIES IfcElementAssembly Hierarchical compositions and furnishings.
PERFORMANCE IfcPropertySet Property templates (Pset_) and quantities (Qto_).
IDENTITY+CODES IfcClassificationRef Taxonomy references (Uniclass) and jurisdictional constraints.
RELATIONSHIPS IfcRel* Connectivity, containment, and semantic associations.

[edit]Classification Floor: Uniclass 2015

The platform adopts Uniclass 2015 as its universal classification floor. Published by the NBS and recognized globally in the openBIM community, Uniclass provides the baseline semantic tagging for every element in the system. While deployment-specific taxonomies (e.g., OmniClass or MasterFormat) can be layered on top, Uniclass 2015 serves as the mandatory default, ensuring consistent data structures from day one. The regulatory acceptance framework for BIM interoperability standards is covered in open-bim-regulatory-acceptance.

[edit]Component Architecture

The Building Design System defines 18 core components across three categories:

  1. Universal AEC (10): SpatialTree, PropertiesPanel, Viewport3D, ViewNavigator, Toolbar, StatusBar, SelectionFilter, TypeBrowser, SectionPlane, AnnotationLayer.
  2. Console-Unique (4): BimGuidSearch, BimAuditLog, BimDashboard, BimExportPanel.
  3. Workplace-Unique (4): MaterialsBrowser, TypeEditor, ClashDetector, VersionHistory.

[edit]The Component-Recipe Pattern

Each component follows a standardized recipe structure to ensure framework independence:

  • recipe.html: Semantic, framework-agnostic markup.
  • recipe.css: Namespaced BEM CSS.
  • aria.md: The accessibility and interaction contract.

Host frameworks (e.g., Yew, Leptos, or vanilla TypeScript) integrate by mounting the recipe markup and attaching the required logic while strictly adhering to the ARIA contract.

[edit]Release Roadmap

  • v0.0.1 (Current): SpatialTree, PropertiesPanel, and Viewport3D are released as foundational components.
  • v0.0.2 (Planned): Console-unique and workplace-unique components will ship alongside the building element index and BIM authoring features.

[edit]See also

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