The Spatial Interference concept defines the relationship of spatial elements, such as facilities (IfcFacility & specialised subtypes) or facility parts (IfcFacilityPart with domain specific predefined types) that interfere or interface with other spatial elements across discipline spatial hierarchy branches. The IfcSpatialElement entities should be identifiable by their IfcSpatialElement.Name attribute and an optional IfcRelInterferesElements.InterferenceType should be included to describe the nature of the interface or interference.
A simple example is a project that contains a road or railway development that includes a bridge section. IfcRelInterferesElements is used to semantically link the spatial segments of the road or railway that pass over the bridge or bridge segments with the relevant interference type specified. This semantic relationship provides an easily queryable connection to identify the spatial elements that require consideration across disciplines such as the road design team and bridge design team. How the spatial hierarchy is organised is up to the user and project in question.
The following diagram shows the generic classes and relationships used when applying this concept.
In addition, concepts may have particular importance to common or standardised industry practices and scenarios. For these specific usage scenarios, the table below shows a recommended list of general usage patterns that users may adopt.
