- The BIC declaration of this building is the highest level of protection provided by the Spanish Historical Heritage Law 16/1985
- The Student Residence, founded in 1910, was the result of the innovative ideas of the Free Educational Institution, and had as residents great personalities of the cultural and intellectual scene such as Lorca, Dalí, Severo Ochoa or Buñuel
The Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has approved the declaration of Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) in the category of monument, of the building of the Student Residence, in Madrid. In January, the Ministry of Culture began processing the file for this declaration, which involves the application of this category of protection, the maximum established by Law 16/1985, of June 25, on Spanish Historical Heritage.
Model educational construction
The Student Residence was founded in 1910 following the models of pedagogical and cultural renewal of the Free Institution of Teaching. Great personalities of the Spanish cultural, scientific and intellectual scene of the 20th century such as Federico García Lorca, Salvador Dalí, Severo Ochoa or Luis Buñuel were residents of the institution. Figures such as José Ortega y Gasset, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Miguel de Unamuno, Manuel de Falla or Santiago Ramón y Cajal, among others, passed through its facilities.
Its activity was interrupted by the Civil War. In 1986, at the initiative of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the original project was resumed. Currently, under the management of the Student Residence Foundation, the foundation of the state public sector, it has achieved great international prestige for its active role in promoting dialogue between the arts, humanities and sciences, as well as in cultural and scientific exchange between the different universities and international centers. In 2015 it was distinguished with the European Heritage Label, awarded by the European Union.
The Student Residence is located in what was then the north of Madrid in an area known as Cerro del Viento and its building was commissioned to the architect Antonio Flórez Urdpila between 1913 and 1915. It consists of four buildings with rooms and rooms for residents and laboratories that were surrounded by gardens and open spaces, organized under the direction of Javier de Winthuysen. These green environments were another educational tool, such as classrooms and laboratories, since in the philosophy of the Free Educational Institution the approach to outdoor life was fundamental.