Journal Article

Contemporary Dwelling in Serbia: Insights from a Survey Study

Nikolić, Sanja, Njegić, Tanja, Simonović Alfirević, Sanja, Alfirević, Đorđe

2026

Overview

This paper presents the results of an empirical study examining residents’ perceptions of contemporary dwellings in Serbia, with a focus on spatial organization, comfort, and everyday usability. An online survey conducted in October 2025 was structured into four thematic sections: demographic characteristics, dwelling attributes, housing quality assessment, and subjective spatial experience. The study is based on the hypothesis that apartments built during the socialist period are perceived as spatially and functionally superior to recently constructed housing. The results indicate a pronounced user preference for dwellings built between 1975 and 1990, particularly in terms of functional layout, kitchen daylighting, storage capacity, and spatial adaptability, despite their technical obsolescence and lower energy performance. By highlighting the relationship between spatial characteristics and user satisfaction, the findings contribute to a better understanding of everyday housing experience and provide a basis for informing architectural design and housing policy grounded in user needs rather than exclusively market- or norm-driven criteria.

• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Subject: Architectural design / Daylighting / Design / dwelling satisfaction / Dwellings / Flexibility / Housing / Housing policy / housing preferences / housing quality / Privacy / Quality assessment / Quality control / Quality of life / Questionnaires / socialist and post-socialist housing / Socialists / Storage capacity / Surveys / User experience / User needs / user perception / User satisfaction / Ventilation