Site¶
In one sentence: Create the top-level geographic container for a BIM project — the land parcel that holds one or more Buildings.
Overview¶
Workbench: BIM
Menu: 3D/BIM → Site
Command: Arch_Site
IFC class: IfcSite
A Site is the top-level container for a BIM project. It represents the physical land parcel and holds geographic information, one or more Buildings, and site features such as terrain shape, perimeter, and landscaping.
Intuition¶
The BIM hierarchy is Site → Building → Level → Space → Elements. Every object must live somewhere in this tree for IFC export to work correctly. The Site is the root of the tree — it anchors the project to a geographic location.
Step-by-step¶
- Go to 3D/BIM → Site.
- FreeCAD creates an
ArchSiteobject. Any selected objects become children. - In the Properties panel, set Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation.
- Drag Building objects under the Site in the document tree.
Properties¶
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
Latitude |
Geographic latitude in decimal degrees |
Longitude |
Geographic longitude in decimal degrees |
Elevation |
Site elevation above sea level (mm) |
Declination |
Magnetic declination from north (degrees) |
Address |
Postal address string |
Terrain |
Link to a solid or surface representing the terrain shape |
ExportedIfc |
Path to the IFC file this site exports to (Native IFC mode) |
Common mistakes and pitfalls¶
Site coordinates wrong in IFC export
Latitude and Longitude must be in decimal degrees (not
degrees-minutes-seconds). A value of 51.5 is correct; 51°30'0" is not.
Convert DMS to decimal before entering.
See also¶
- Building — building container inside the site
- Level — floor/storey container inside a building
- Space — room or zone inside a storey
- BIM Workbench — workbench overview