Grading of architectural heritage using AHP and TOPSIS methods: a case of Odishan Temple, India

Abstract

PurposeRanking and grading of architectural heritage (AH) are common for the conservation process. Decision-makers are often intuitively made decisions for the selection of the AH. However, on many occasions, these decisions are not transparent and sometimes focused only on a few aspects of the AH.Design/methodology/approachA transparent and robust methodology must be adopted to select and manage AH for the present and future generations. Selecting the list of parameters that are affecting the AH, and assessing their significance can strengthen the holistic assessment. From the literature, parameters and dimensions are identified for the evaluation of AH and its application for Odishan temple architecture (OTA). For minimizing biasedness associated with assessment, the research considered the opinion of experts, researchers and various stakeholders. For objective decision-making, the Delphi, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solutions (TOPSIS) methods were adopted.FindingsLater, by observing the dimension-wise ranks and comparing the obtained grading of OTA with the existing state of protection, it was found that some temples, though having higher values with distinct dimension, lack significantly in other dimensions. However, for unbiased evaluation, all the possible dimensions should be considered. This methodology will also be useful for other decision-making processes concerning the same.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to the OTA. However, this methodology can be adopted by changing the definitions of the parameters according to the contextual needs.Practical implicationsThis methodology may be helpful for the further policy-making process for the conservation and management of such AH.Originality/valueTo date, OTA is not graded through such a methodology. Also, limited studies are found in similar line worldwide.

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“…Both methods were selected because of their wide acceptance and use in the field of heritage science [41][42][43][44], including applications in which they are coupled with expert elicitation [45,46]. The AHP method is particularly suitable to capture linguistic judgments as those requested from the experts and transform them into numbers [47], whilst TOPSIS has been argued to outperform other ranking methods due to its capacity for representing the rationale of human choice, accounting for best and worst alternatives simultaneously and ease of computation [48].…”