You start a new adventure, your university life! You have already decided your training destination and perhaps, like many students, you have chosen to stay in student residences.

It is a great choice. The university residences are prepared to offer you the best comfort and all the facilities you need during which will be one of the most exciting stages of your life. Did you know that the origin of these buildings are in the ancient medieval monasteries?

University Residences, What’s Your Story?

If you feel like investigating the history of university student residences, stay here. They have a really curious past and worthy of being known.

4 curious facts about the history of university residences

# 1 The monasteries; The origin of university residences

When you leave home in search of a new educational experience or way of life, you do not do something very different from what the monks did in the Middle Ages.

Monastic life had as its main objectives the study and search for isolation. And although you may not share the second objective, you will certainly chase the first.

Education was a monopoly of the Church during the Middle Ages. Who wanted to learn had to be in their libraries. In them was concentrated the knowledge accumulated for centuries by humanity.

Given the need to create places to shelter and illustrate these medieval monks, the monastery was born.

They were constructions with a very specific typology based on a determined number of cells or type rooms that are accompanied by common spaces. Is it familiar for you?

It is something very similar to the distribution that have today the university residences of students, although saving the distances marked by 1000 years of history

# 2 Colleges, ancestors of student residences

The history of student residences evolved along with education and society. As a result of the origin of the first universities, back in the 12th century, collective housing was started.

The system of European education developed in Cambridge or Oxford opted for this system, also known as «Tutorial system», where teaching emerged through the daily coexistence between students and tutors. In this way, colleges were born, places where teachers and students lived together, taught, lectured and learned

Do you know where the college copied its space organization? It was clear was not it? Of the monastery.

The colleges were conformed, very much like the current university residences by rooms, halls, dining rooms, conference rooms, sports facilities, and even laboratories or chapels.

3 In North America residences began as bedroom buildings

On the other side of the Atlantic, in North America, around the eighteenth century universities were surrounded by other independent buildings that fulfilled specific functions such as residence.

On the other hand, they also had buildings destined for dining room, library, laboratory or classrooms.

The building that we could call the bedroom only used to have rooms, shared  bathrooms and study room. At first they were designed for men only.

However, as a result of the incorporation of women into the university environment, these dormitory buildings incorporated new spaces, becoming university residences in a very similar way as they are known today.

 # 4 University residences adapt to modern life

Student residences continued their development and another of the key milestones in their history arrived at the beginning of the 20th century in Paris. The city housed one of the buildings for more paradigmatic students, the Swiss Pavilion of Le Corbusier.

The image of dormitory buildings for traditional students was modified forever to adapt to the new demands of modern life, including for example other elements such as parking  for vehicles.

Student residences continue to be key today

This adaptation to social and educational changes has been key to the survival of university student homes over the years. Today they continue to be a vital building in the educational system, welcoming thousands of students every year.

Maybe you will be one of them and have chosen to stay in our luxury Vitium student flats. If so, you will not regret your choice.

You will enjoy an unforgettable experience, as many other students did before because if there is one thing that has not changed throughout the history of university residences has been the emotion with which the students face this new life that He waits for them.

If you are still looking for your student residence in Madrid do not hesitate to contact with Vitium. We will wait for you