How to Improve Spatial Adaptability in Small Inflexible Apartments with Minimum Investment?—A Case Study from Sarajevo

In this paper, we have analyzed newly constructed apartments in multi-storey residential buildings in Sarajevo through the aspects that influence the adaptability and flexibility of living spaces. Conducted analyses have shown that analyzed apartments present entirely rigid, inflexible units and emphasize the crucial parameters essential for housing flexibility. Nevertheless, those apartments have excellent sales due to the perfectly polished conceptual 3D visualizations of the interior spaces. This paper investigates how household members arrange life in those apartments and how real life and interior design differ from the projected 3D visualizations. Through a case study that follows changes in adaptability in one newly constructed rigid apartment in Sarajevo for five years, we have concluded that household members often become interior designers for their apartments due to the difficult economic situation in the country and low incomes. Therefore, the final results of spatial adaptability depend only on their education, desire for change, and capability to adjust the space to their needs with a limited budget. This paper demonstrates that it is possible to adapt space to living needs with minimal interventions. Simple methods such as remodeling and reusing existing furniture using various self-adhesive foils and other cheap methods will improve the adaptability of the space with minimum investment. Therefore, free education about these methods for citizens is needed. However, additional instruction for the investors is urgently required because the previously mentioned and analyzed problems will be solved when they recognize housing flexibility as one of the basic requirements for newly constructed apartments.