This PR introduces a series of high-impact architectural improvements and stability fixes to the IfcOpenShell ecosystem. These changes focus on modernizing the codebase, resolving long-standing technical debt, and enhancing the robustness of core utilities.

Summary of Changes:

1. Architectural Refactoring & Dependency Management (Issue Circular import error in ifcopenshell.util.shape_builder prevents importing recipes that use ShapeBuilder (v0.8.4.post1) #7562):

   • Successfully decoupled the dependency graph by breaking a circular import cycle between shape_builder, representation, and shape.
   • Introduced a new standalone vectors.py base module to house fundamental geometric utilities, providing a clean foundation for future developments.

2. Recursive Spatial Recovery in Bonsai Collector (Issue Changing an element's spatial container causes an error #7801):

   • Implemented a sophisticated recursive parent lookup mechanism. When an element's immediate container is "virtual" or lacks a corresponding Blender object, the collector now intelligently traverses the spatial hierarchy until a valid parent is identified. This ensures stable parent linkage even in complex or partially defined models.

3. IfcPatch CLI Standardization & Batch Processing (Issue [IfcPatch]Create proper CLI entrypoint / script #6436, When searching via the Ifc class search, that is looked up PredefinedTypes as well. #6822):

   • Refactored the ifcpatch module to include a formal main() entrypoint and registered it as a console_script.
   • Added support for glob-based batch processing, allowing users to efficiently apply patches to multiple IFC files simultaneously from the command line.

4. SQL Serialization Robustness (Issue developer(s) wanted #7542):

   • Hardened the Ifc2Sql recipe with recursive safety checks to handle complex null-like entities and nested value types, preventing crashes during large-scale BIM data exports.

These contributions significantly improve the developer experience and system stability, paving the way for more scalable BIM workflows. I am incredibly passionate about the technical depth of IfcOpenShell and am excited to contribute to its continued evolution as part of GSoC 2026.