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- In BIMpedia
AI assistants became much more useful when they could use tools, not just write text. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard most of them use for it. Connected through MCP, an assistant can ask Revit for the doors on Level 3, read their properties, and, if you let it, change them.
- 1You ask“Which fire doors on Level 3 have no rating?”
- 2Assistant plansChooses the server’s tools to call
- 3MCP server actsCalls the software’s API: get_elements
- 4Results returnElements and properties, as data
- 5You checkSpot-check before trusting or approving changes
What it looks like
You type: "Which fire doors on Level 3 have no fire rating?"
- The assistant sees the MCP server's tools:
get_elements,get_parameters,set_parameter,create_schedule… - It calls
get_elementswith category = doors, level = Level 3, thenget_parametersfor FireRating. - It answers: 14 doors, with their marks and rooms.
- You ask it to set them to EI 30. It shows the 14 proposed changes; you confirm; it calls
set_parameter.
MCP was published as an open protocol in late 2024 and is supported by many AI assistants. MCP servers exist for desktop BIM tools (often community add-ins for Revit or Archicad), for cloud platforms (Autodesk has published samples built on APS), and for open formats like IFC. Quality and maintenance vary.
Good uses
- Questions about model data in plain language, checked against a schedule.
- Repetitive edits you can describe precisely and preview before applying.
- Joining tools together: read open issues, summarise them, draft the meeting notes.
- Prototyping an automation before writing it as a proper script.
Your team wants to connect an AI assistant to Revit through a community MCP server. The server offers these tools: get_elements, get_parameters, set_parameter, delete_elements, create_sheet, export_schedule, run_python.
- Which tools would you allow freely, which only with preview and confirmation, and which would you disable? Why?
- Write three other rules for the team.
Key takeaways
- An MCP server exposes a tool's actions; the assistant chooses which to call from your request.
- Start read-only; allow edits only with a preview and your confirmation, on copies first.
- Check where the assistant runs and what it sends; contracts may forbid models leaving the company.
- For repeatable, audited jobs, turn what worked into a proper script.
Your notes
Related tool
Open an IFC file in the browser: structure, elements, properties and required-property checks.
Open IFC Inspector →