# Advantages of IfcSpatialZone in comparison to IfcSpace in terms of Cadaster (Surveying)

**URL:** <https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/advantages-of-ifcspatialzone-in-comparison-to-ifcspace-in-terms-of-cadaster-surveying/4560>\
**Category:** IFC\
**Created:** [January 6, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/advantages-of-ifcspatialzone-in-comparison-to-ifcspace-in-terms-of-cadaster-surveying/4560 "2023-01-06T04:54:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Chu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.buildingsmart.org/chu/32/1716_2.png) [@Chu](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/u/Chu)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/advantages-of-ifcspatialzone-in-comparison-to-ifcspace-in-terms-of-cadaster-surveying/4560/1 "2023-01-06T04:54:37Z")

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Hi,

I’d like to ask on what are the different advantages of mapping IfcSpatialZone class entity to Cadaster (Surveying) Elements in comparison to mapping IfcSpace class entity? As i’m not sure what are the inherent advantages that IfcSpatialZone would bring better, would hope to seek advice on this.

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**Author:** ![aothms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@aothms](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/u/aothms)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 12:40pm UTC](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/advantages-of-ifcspatialzone-in-comparison-to-ifcspace-in-terms-of-cadaster-surveying/4560/2 "2023-01-07T12:40:41Z")

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There’s three related constructs:

- IfcSpace: volumetric element
- IfcZone: non-geometric grouping of spaces
- IfcSpatialZone: grouping of spaces with geometric representation

From this listing it’s apparent that IfcSpatialZone is simply the most expressive construct, since it can both be further decomposed into further spaces or zones and can have a representation in itself. These aspects to me seem relevant for cadastral usecases so I would agree with the recommendation. Support in authoring software might in some cases still be limited though, at least that was the situation some years ago when I was involved in projects related to this.

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**Author:** ![daviddelven](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.buildingsmart.org/daviddelven/32/2384_2.png) [@daviddelven](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/u/daviddelven)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 9:08am UTC](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/advantages-of-ifcspatialzone-in-comparison-to-ifcspace-in-terms-of-cadaster-surveying/4560/3 "2023-01-10T09:08:17Z")

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Hello @Chu

Please, check the last year expert panel of the project Spatial Zone [ifcSpatialZone intermediate Expert Panel and Call for Participation - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UstFnz19ab0&t=1935s)

We are finishing the Technical Report and hopefully, it will be presented at the next bSI Summit in Rome.

Regards

David