Milena Zindović RS

Milena Zindović is an architect and urban planner based in Belgrade, Serbia. With over 15 years of experience, she is a results-driven expert recognized for her innovative approach to design and her commitment to gender mainstreaming. Her career is defined by a proven track record of developing adaptive, site-specific architecture and inclusive, sustainable urban environments. Whether working on complex urban masterplans or tactile, spatially intelligent interiors, her approach remains deeply human-oriented.
Zindović holds a Graduate Engineer in Architecture degree from the University of Belgrade, completed between 2001 and 2007. She further advanced her expertise by earning a Post-professional Master of Architecture from Cornell University in 2008–2009. During her academic journey at Cornell, she was the recipient of the Helen Fagan Tyler Graduate Fellowship in Architecture in 2008.
She began her professional career in Belgrade before moving to Slovenia in 2010 to join the Ljubljana-based studio Sadar + Vuga. There, she contributed to the Sports Center Stožice, oversaw construction phases, and managed numerous international competitions.
In 2014, she founded MZ Studio Architecture, serving as Principal Architect and developing over 50 diverse projects ranging from small-scale interventions to comprehensive urban plans. She also served as Director of the public planning company "PLAN" in Šabac from 2015 to 2017, managing a 30-person team, overseeing city development plans, and directing municipal projects. Her urban planning work earned the First prize in the category of Detailed Regulation plans at the 26th Urban planners exhibition in Niš in 2017.
Her design excellence across multiple scales has garnered significant recognition. She led the redesign of public spaces in Šabac, including the Vinaver Square (recognized at the 2020 STRAND exhibition) and the Plaza with Fountain in City Park. The latter won the Award for Excellence in Public Space Design and Best Urban Space Project at the 2025 BUILD Magazine Architecture Awards, alongside an honorable mention at the 45th Architecture Salon in Belgrade in 2023. Her robust architectural portfolio also includes a 2015 Bravacasa finalist nomination, Second prize for Sombor's Arts Square in 2019, and an honorable mention for the National Museum in Belgrade in 2010. Furthermore, her internationally published "House overlooking the Danube" earned an honorable mention in Architecture at the 2023 Architecture Salon.
A defining pillar of Zindović's career is her advocacy for women in architecture and gender-responsive planning. In 2013, she founded and became Editor-in-Chief of the Women in Architecture Initiative, editing the landmark publication "Women in Architecture | Contemporary architecture in Serbia since 1900".
Her expertise in gender mainstreaming is highly sought after by international organizations. She consulted extensively for UN Women between 2018 and 2020 on integrating gender perspectives into urban planning, waste management, and climate change projects, and spoke as a panelist at the 63rd UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York in 2019. She co-authored the 2020 "Guide towards gender sensitive urban spaces" and has trained local governments on human-rights-based approaches and gender-sensitive development for the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities of Serbia and the World Bank.