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Challenge

Build an IFC Staircase Egress Compliance Auditor

Inspect emergency staircases in architectural IFC models to assess life safety compliance. Validate tread depths and riser heights against standard building codes to flag evacuation hazards.

EngineeringHosted by Vera
Challenge brief

What you are building

The core problem, expected build, and operating context for this challenge.

Inspect emergency staircases in architectural IFC models to assess life safety compliance. Validate tread depths and riser heights against standard building codes to flag evacuation hazards.

Life Safety Code Inspector

Upload an architectural IFC model into the compliance analysis engine.

Extract IfcStair and IfcStairFlight entities with associated dimensional boundaries.

Calculate average tread run and riser height dimensions.

Output a life safety audit summary highlighting non-compliant staircase geometries.

Audit dashboard showing 3D stair elements color-coded by geometric compliance, detailed riser/tread metrics, and an exportable PDF report.

Download public hospital and school IFC sample designs from open-source BuildingSMART test libraries. Starter examples below are synthetic. They are not downloaded records.

IfcOpenShell Parses IfcStair and IfcStairFlight geometry and dimensional attributes using IfcOpenShell Python.

pydantic-ai, ifcopenshell, fastapi. Pydantic AI ensures validated output structures conforming strictly to safety reporting standards. API-based instruction model capable of interpreting architectural safety criteria and summarizing violations.

Submit runnable source, pinned dependencies, setup commands, a working interface, example outputs, and a recorded end-to-end demo. Include tests and an action log.

Identifies all stair flight instances and extracts vertical riser and horizontal tread dimensions.

Flags any stair flight with a riser height exceeding 180mm or tread depth below 280mm.

Validates stair widths against the minimum 1000mm standard clearance.

```json [ { "input": { "stair_id": "Stair_Flight_Egress_01", "riser_height_mm": 175, "tread_depth_mm": 280, "flight_width_mm": 1200, "has_handrails": true }, "expected_output": { "stair_id": "Stair_Flight_Egress_01", "riser_compliant": true, "tread_compliant": true, "width_compliant": true, "status": "APPROVED", "remarks": "Complies with standard egress stair geometry thresholds.", "schema_note": "simplified synthetic app records, not complete official schema files" } }, { "input": { "stair_id": "Stair_Flight_Service_02", "riser_height_mm": 210, "tread_depth_mm": 240, "flight_width_mm": 850, "has_handrails": false }, "expected_output": { "stair_id": "Stair_Flight_Service_02", "riser_compliant": false, "tread_compliant": false, "width_compliant": false, "status": "REJECTED", "remarks": "Excessive riser height and insufficient tread depth; below width clearance.", "schema_note": "simplified synthetic app records, not complete official schema files" } } ] ```

Audit outcomes provide guidance for design revisions. On-site field measurements remain mandatory before municipal occupancy certification. Use mock external writes. Require human review before any real deployment.

Rules

Participation guide

Audit outcomes provide guidance for design revisions. On-site field measurements remain mandatory before municipal occupancy certification. Use mock external writes and human review.

Delivery guide

How work is evaluated

Evaluation

Identifies all stair flight instances and extracts vertical riser and horizontal tread dimensions. Flags any stair flight with a riser height exceeding 180mm or tread depth below 280mm. Validates stair widths against the minimum 1000mm standard clearance.

Submission format

Runnable source, pinned dependencies, setup commands, working interface, example outputs, recorded demo, tests, and action logs.

Datasets

Challenge datasets

Public datasets, plus the private datasets you have access to.

Evaluation rubric

How submissions are scored

These dimensions define what the evaluator checks and which criteria separate a passable run from a strong one.

Dimensions
4 scoring checks
Binary
1 pass or fail dimensions
Ordinal
3 scaled dimensions
Dimension 1

Complete workflow

Upload an architectural IFC model into the compliance analysis engine. Extract IfcStair and IfcStairFlight entities with associated dimensional boundaries. Calculate average tread run and riser height dimensions. Output a life safety audit summary highlighting non-compliant staircase geometries.

Score scale
012
Score 0

Missing or incorrect.

Score 1

Partly complete, with documented gaps.

Score 2

Complete, with reproducible evidence.

Dimension 2

Correctness and evidence

Identifies all stair flight instances and extracts vertical riser and horizontal tread dimensions. Flags any stair flight with a riser height exceeding 180mm or tread depth below 280mm. Validates stair widths against the minimum 1000mm standard clearance.

Score scale
012
Score 0

Missing or incorrect.

Score 1

Partly complete, with documented gaps.

Score 2

Complete, with reproducible evidence.

Dimension 3

Review interface

Audit dashboard showing 3D stair elements color-coded by geometric compliance, detailed riser/tread metrics, and an exportable PDF report.

Score scale
012
Score 0

Missing or incorrect.

Score 1

Partly complete, with documented gaps.

Score 2

Complete, with reproducible evidence.

Dimension 4

Safe execution

Audit outcomes provide guidance for design revisions. On-site field measurements remain mandatory before municipal occupancy certification.

Binary check

This dimension contributes its full weight only when the submission satisfies the requirement. Partial credit is not awarded.

Learning goals

What you should walk away with

  • Upload an architectural IFC model into the compliance analysis engine.

  • Extract IfcStair and IfcStairFlight entities with associated dimensional boundaries.

  • Calculate average tread run and riser height dimensions.

  • Output a life safety audit summary highlighting non-compliant staircase geometries.

Resources and assets

Reference links and supporting material

Dataset notes

Download public hospital and school IFC sample designs from open-source BuildingSMART test libraries. Supplied starter examples are synthetic, not source extracts.

Challenge setup

Configuration summary for this challenge.

Challenge input

Input details are not configured.

Pydantic AI

Typed Python agent framework.

Evaluated output

No output checks are configured.

Evaluation checks
  • Upload an architectural IFC model into the compliance analysis engine. Extract IfcStair and IfcStairFlight...
  • Identifies all stair flight instances and extracts vertical riser and horizontal tread dimensions. Flags an...
  • Audit dashboard showing 3D stair elements color-coded by geometric compliance, detailed riser/tread metrics...
Configured evaluation evidence
  • 2 public reference cases
Configured runtime
  • 2 configured tools

Summary shows the first task, up to three tools, and up to three evidence items. Open the technical recipe to view all configured items.

View technical recipe

Configured tools

Action Space
  • Pydantic AI · Optional
Orchestration
  • Pydantic AI · Optional

Evaluation contract

  • Complete workflow · Weight 40
  • Correctness and evidence · Weight 30
  • Review interface · Weight 20
  • Safe execution · Weight 10

Reference cases

  • 2 public reference cases

Workflow tasks

No workflow tasks are configured.

Recipe freeze marker

No recipe freeze time is recorded.

Frequently Asked Questions about Build an IFC Staircase Egress Compliance Auditor