A Modular Reference Architecture for MCP-Servers Enabling Agentic BIM Interaction

arXiv (Cornell University)

Abstract

Agentic workflows driven by large language models (LLMs) are increasingly applied to Building Information Modelling (BIM), enabling natural-language retrieval, modification and generation of IFC models. Recent work has begun adopting the emerging Model Context Protocol (MCP) as a uniform tool-calling interface for LLMs, simplifying the agent side of BIM interaction. While MCP standardises how LLMs invoke tools, current BIM-side implementations are still authoring tool-specific and ad hoc, limiting reuse, evaluation, and workflow portability across environments. This paper addresses this gap by introducing a modular reference architecture for MCP servers that enables API-agnostic, isolated and reproducible agentic BIM interactions. From a systematic analysis of recurring capabilities in recent literature, we derive a core set of requirements. These inform a microservice architecture centred on an explicit adapter contract that decouples the MCP interface from specific BIM-APIs. A prototype implementation using IfcOpenShell demonstrates feasibility across common modification and generation tasks. Evaluation across representative scenarios shows that the architecture enables reliable workflows, reduces coupling, and provides a reusable foundation for systematic research.

Authors 5

1. Tobias Heimig-Elschner
2. Changyu Du
3. Anna Scheuvens Aachen Chair of Design Computation

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Design Computation , RWTH Aachen University , Germany

   Federal Institute for Research on Building , Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) , Germany

4. André Borrmann

   Technical University of Munich

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Computing in Civil and Building Engineering , Technical University of Munich , Germany

   TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute , Germany

5. Jakob Beetz Aachen Chair of Design Computation

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Design Computation , RWTH Aachen University , Germany