A multi-criteria decision-making approach to assessing the health risk of rockeries in Chinese classical gardens

Owing to the lack of appropriate protection measures, natural and human factors have led to the deterioration of rockeries, which are a distinct cultural heritage with both aesthetic and historical value and an essential component of Chinese classical gardens. The state of rockeries is evaluated by craftsmen who assess the damage levels based on their experience. While this is a common practice, it lacks standardization, which may cause a great uncertainty that influences the efficiency of the protection of rockeries. The preservation and risk mitigation of cultural heritages require the use of reliable tools that provide an accurate diagnosis of their conditions. Multi-criteria decision-making techniques have been applied in several previous studies and proven to be a reliable method for conducting vulnerability or risk assessment for cultural heritage. Therefore, this study developed a health risk assessment tool based on multi-criteria decision-making techniques that can be applied to rockeries in Chinese classical gardens. In contrast to other multi-criteria decision-making methodologies, the proposed method emphasizes the detailed analysis of the health state of rockeries based on impartial and objective data. Moreover, based on the ultimate risk rating for rockeries, the decision makers can arrange the priorities of action in a hierarchical manner, and the cost-efficient protection measures can be identified. Results from the application of four different case studies are illustrated to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method.