ArchiBERTo: a hierarchization quality objectives NLP tool in the Italian Architecture, Engineering and Construction sector

Natural language is the main source of communication during pre-design phase, effective communication among the actors must be guaranteed for the design project success during this crucial phase. In the proposed study, textual data is processed via an NLP tool (ArchiBERTo) specifically developed for the elaboration of Design Guidance Documents (DIP), pivotal documents in the pre-design stages of the design and construction procurement process in Italy. DIP defines demands and objectives of the public appointing party. The tool is used to process and translate the DIP quality objectives related sentences into a list of hierarchized objectives and criteria. To evaluate ArchiBERTo performances, the outputs generated by the tool and the objectives rankings provided by a group of architecture and construction experts are compared. The results show a good capability of the tool to mirror the collective capability and sensitivity of the group of experts in the design and construction domain.