Preferences for Floor Plans of Medium-Sized Apartments: A Survey Analysis in Beijing, China

Abstract

This study constitutes a new approach to quantitative analysis of people's housing preferences. Using medium-sized apartments in Beijing as an example, seven floor plans were developed and a questionnaire survey was conducted where the respondents were asked to decide between different pairs of floor plans based on their own preferences. Based on the data, the spatial properties of the floor plans were examined and sample families were classified by their attributes. Using a modeling approach, the preferences for housing floor plans of various family groups were estimated and discussed in detail. The results demonstrated that ‘privacy,’ ‘south-facing,’ ‘storage,’ and ‘number of rooms’ were the critical means of evaluation of the floor plans of medium-sized apartments. The preferences of different family groups differed significantly and most families were quite selective regarding floor plans. Thus, high-level customization is necessary in architectural design and information services. The preference indices revealed to what extent people were satisfied with different floor plans and suggested precise ways to improve satisfaction with regard to layout plans. In addition, the results implied that, for apartments smaller than 90 m2, essential functions or ‘housing utility’ must be given priority. In particular, a dining room and a study room were considered mandatory, but a separate storage room was not required.