If there is a block wall, most architectural implementations export a IfcWallStandardCase and it is therefore represented by an axis and a thickness. This is perhaps fine in conceptual design, but is not appropriate for detailed design. FreeCAD is able to export the blocks as a BREP so you maintain the geometry for each block, and then call it an IfcElementedWallCase, which is much better than the simplification that Revit does, for instance, but it could still be improved.
Ideally, I believe block walls should be exported as an IfcElementedWallCase, which is made up of individual elements (i.e. each individual block). This would provide added value in:
- Knowing block setout locations
- Counting cut blocks
- Knowing the block pattern
- Knowing joint sizes and joint treatment
- Detailed geometry can be reused for lighting simulations
- Knowing the material treatment of the block and the joints (are they painted? face block? what colour are the joints?)
From reading the IfcWallElementedCase, I am not sure what each block is. Is it an IfcBuildingElementPart, IfcMember, IfcElementAssembly, or IfcBuildingElementProxy?
Has anybody ever exported a block wall to IFC before? How did you deal with it?