A Study on the Importance Evaluation of Apartment Design Elements

Abstract

As apartments have recently become more advanced and diversified, the Government of South Korea has expanded the design guidelines of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which used to be applied only to public apartments, to private houses since March 2010. In addition, local governments’ policies, such as “the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Building Standards” and “Gyeonggi-do Apartment Design Standards”, are also moving toward emphasizing the quality of housing design. This study aims to find out what are the most important elements of the design of apartments and community facilities. As a result of conducting Focus Group Interview (FGI) to related experts, 6 items on the design elements of apartment, 29 items on detailed design elements, 5 items on community facility design and 17 items on detailed design elements were derived. An analysis of the importance in design elements showed that the number one design element of apartments is the interior design and which also shows that residents consider the space they own more important. The most important element of community facility design is the outdoor space and which is the most important for residents of residential complexes to have access to outdoor space for community exchange and bonding.