Dormitory
Encyclopedia
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States
is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school
, college
or university
students. In the UK
, the word has an earlier, different but related meaning: it refers specifically to an individual room in which many people sleep, typically at a boarding school
. The UK equivalent of the American word as applied to university buildings is hall of residence, often shortened to halls.
at the United States Naval Academy
.
Many colleges and universities no longer use the word "dormitory" and staff are now using the term residence hall (analogous to the United Kingdom "hall of residence") or simply "hall" instead. Outside academia however, the word "dorm" or "dormitory" is commonly used without negative connotations. Indeed, the words are used regularly in the marketplace as well as routinely in advertising. College and university residential rooms vary in size, shape, facilities and number of occupants. Typically, a United States residence hall room holds two students with no toilet
. This is usually referred to as a "double". Often, residence halls have communal bathroom facilities.
In the United States, residence halls are sometimes segregated by sex
, with men living in one group of rooms, and women in another. Some dormitory complexes are single-sex with varying limits on visits by persons of each sex. For example, the University of Notre Dame
in Indiana
has a long history of Parietals, or mixed visiting hours. Most colleges and universities offer coeducational dorms, where either men and women reside on separate floors but in the same building or where both sexes share a floor but with individual rooms being single-sex
. In the early 2000s, dorms that allowed people of opposite sexes to share a room became available in some public universities. Some colleges and university coeducational dormitories also feature coeducational bathrooms.
Most residence halls are much closer to campus than comparable private housing such as apartment buildings. This convenience is a major factor in the choice of where to live since living physically closer to classrooms is often preferred, particularly for first-year students who may not be permitted to park vehicles on campus. Universities may therefore provide priority to first-year students when allocating this accommodation.
Halls located away from university facilities sometimes have extra amenities such as a recreation room or bar. As with campus located residence halls, these off-campus halls commonly also have Internet
facilities, either through a network connection in each student room
, a central computer cluster room, or Wi-Fi
. Catered halls may charge for food by the meal or through a termly subscription. They may also contain basic kitchen facilities for student use outside catering hours. Most halls contain a laundry room.
In UK universities these buildings are usually called "halls of residence" (commonly referred to as "halls"), except at Oxford
, Cambridge
, Durham
, St Andrews, York
, Lancaster
and Kent
where the residential accommodation is incorporated in each college's complex of buildings, and simply known as "rooms". (Members of the college who live in its own buildings are usually said to be "living in", or "living in college"), although "halls of residence" is still used at times.
The majority of bedrooms in UK halls are now single occupancy - offering the first chance at privacy for some young people who shared bedrooms with siblings at home. Kitchen facilities are usually shared, as are bathrooms in some halls, though more expensive en suite rooms are available in some universities.
In Germany there are dormitories called "Studentenwohnheim" (plural: Studentenwohnheime). Most Studentenwohnheime are run by the Studentenwerk
("student union", an organisation providing social, financial and cultural support services to students in Germany). Some are run by a Catholic or Protestant church. Church-run facilities are sometimes single-sex.
Studentenwohnheime may be on Campus or outside of Campus. They are usually low cost and serve poorer students.
The terms "residence hall" and "dorm" are often used interchangeably in the US. However, within the residence life
community, the term "residence hall" is preferred. According to the University of Oregon
, their facilities "provide not just a place to sleep, but also opportunities for personal and educational growth. Highly trained Residence Life staff and Hall Government officers support this objective by creating engaging activities and programs in each hall or complex."
Michigan State University
in East Lansing, Michigan has the largest residence hall system
in the United States. 16,000 students live within 23 different undergraduate buildings, one graduate hall, and three apartment villages. Freshmen are required to live on the 45,000+ student campus for at least their first year. Watterson Towers
at Illinois State University
are among the tallest residence halls in the world. The 28-story complex, which was built in 1967 holds over 2,200 students and its buildings are 91 meters tall.
The Sandburg Halls
at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee consists of four high rise towers, with the tallest being the northern most tower reaching 74 metres (242.8 ft) tall (building), and 146.8 metres (481.6 ft) (radio antenna). The halls combined have a total housing capacity of 2,700 students.
Dobie Center
, an off-campus, 27-story private dormitory next to The University of Texas at Austin, stands at 112 metres (367.5 ft). In addition to being a private residence for students, Dobie also contains a 2-story mall, a movie theater, restaurants, and specialty stores.
The Valkendorfs Kollegium
at the University of Copenhagen
was founded in 1589. Though not as old as some of the colleges of Oxford
and Cambridge
, it is among the oldest dormitories in the world. The Stone Frigate
at Royal Military College of Canada
in Kingston, Ontario
was constructed in 1820 to store part of the dismantled fleet from the War of 1812. The former warehouse was converted into a dormitory and classrooms when the college was established in 1874. The Stone Frigate, a designated heritage building, was closed for more than 18 months for major renovations to the interior and exterior of the dormitory. The Capstone House at University of South Carolina
in Columbia, South Carolina
completed in 1967, standing at 18 stories, has the only revolving restaurant on an American college campus located on the 18th floor known as Top of Carolina Dining Room.
Nido Spitalfields
in London
is the world's tallest student accommodation building, standing at 105 metres (344.5 ft), with 33 floors. It was completed in 2010 and claimed the title from the previous record holder, Sky Plaza in Leeds
which stands just two metres lower.
, Resident Students Association, or Junior Common Room Committee which typically provides funds and oversees the individual building council. These student led organizations are typically connected at a national level by the National Association of College and University Residence Halls
(NACURH). Collectively, these hall councils plan social and educational events, and voice student needs to their respective administration.
s, act as liaisons, counselors, mediators and policy enforcers. The student staff is supervised by a graduate student or a full-time residence life professional. Staff members frequently arrange programming activities to help residents learn about social and academic life during their college life.
In the United Kingdom, halls often run a similar setup to that in the U.S, although the resident academic responsible for the hall is known by the term of "warden" and may be supported by a team of vice-wardens, sub-wardens or senior-members; forming the SCR
(Senior Common Room). These are often students or academic staff at the relevant university/college. Many UK halls also have a JCR
(Junior Common Room) committee, usually made up of second year students who stayed in that hall during their first year.
The facilities in the hall are often managed by an individual termed the Bursar. Residence Halls may have housekeeping staff to maintain the cleanliness of common rooms including lobbies and bathrooms. Students are normally required to maintain the cleanliness of their own rooms and private or semi-private bathrooms, where offered.
at most U.S. military installations. Much new construction includes private bathrooms, but most unaccompanied housing still features bathrooms between pairs of rooms. Traditional communal shower facilities, typically one per floor, are now considered substandard and are being phased out.
U.S. military dormitory accommodations are generally intended for two junior enlisted single personnel per room, although in most cases this is slowly being phased out in favor of single occupancy in accordance with newer Department of Defense standards.
All branches of the U.S. military except the Air Force still refer to these dormitory-style accommodations as "barracks". The Air Force, in contrast, refers to all unaccompanied housing as "dormitories", including open-bay barracks used for basic training
that house dozens per room, as well as unaccompanied housing for senior ranking personnel, which resemble apartments and are only found in a select number of overseas locations.
s but have nowadays completely vanished as a type of accommodation in university halls of residence. CADs, or Cold-Air Dormitories, are found in multi-level rooming houses such as fraternities, sororities, and cooperative houses. In CADs and in hostels, the room typically has very few furnishings except for beds. Such rooms can contain anywhere from three to 50 beds (though such very large dormitories are rare except perhaps as military barracks
). Such rooms provide little or no privacy for the residents, and very limited storage for personal items in or near the beds.
Cast Members in the Disney College Program at the Walt Disney World Resort have the opportunity to meet and live with other Cast Members within their housing complexes in Lake Buena Vista, FL. In the Netherlands, the law forbids companies to offer housing to their employees, because the government wants to prevent people who have just lost their job adding to their stressful situation by having to search for new housing. In Japan
, many of the larger companies as well as some of the ministries still offer to their newly graduated freshmen a room in a dormitory. A room in such a dormitory often comes with a communal cook (for the men) or rooms with furnished kitchen blocks (for the women). Usually the employees pay a very small amount of money to enable the men (especially) to save money to buy a house when they get married.
Notable among floating dormitories is SS Stevens
, a 473-foot, 14,893-ton ship operated by Stevens Institute of Technology
, a technological university, in Hoboken, New Jersey
. From 1968 to 1975, Stevens served as the floating dormitory for as many as 150 students of the institute.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
or university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
students. In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the word has an earlier, different but related meaning: it refers specifically to an individual room in which many people sleep, typically at a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
. The UK equivalent of the American word as applied to university buildings is hall of residence, often shortened to halls.
Higher education
Most colleges and universities provide single or multiple occupancy rooms for their students, usually at a cost. These buildings consist of many such rooms, like an apartment building, and the number of rooms varies quite widely from just a few to hundreds. The largest dormitory building is Bancroft HallBancroft Hall
Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is the largest single dormitory in the world. Bancroft Hall, named after former Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, is home for the entire brigade of 4,000 midshipmen, and contains some 1,700 rooms, of corridors, and of...
at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
.
Many colleges and universities no longer use the word "dormitory" and staff are now using the term residence hall (analogous to the United Kingdom "hall of residence") or simply "hall" instead. Outside academia however, the word "dorm" or "dormitory" is commonly used without negative connotations. Indeed, the words are used regularly in the marketplace as well as routinely in advertising. College and university residential rooms vary in size, shape, facilities and number of occupants. Typically, a United States residence hall room holds two students with no toilet
Toilet
A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
. This is usually referred to as a "double". Often, residence halls have communal bathroom facilities.
In the United States, residence halls are sometimes segregated by sex
Sex segregation
Sex segregation is the separation of people according to their sex.The term gender apartheid also has been applied to segregation of people by gender, implying that it is sexual discrimination...
, with men living in one group of rooms, and women in another. Some dormitory complexes are single-sex with varying limits on visits by persons of each sex. For example, the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
has a long history of Parietals, or mixed visiting hours. Most colleges and universities offer coeducational dorms, where either men and women reside on separate floors but in the same building or where both sexes share a floor but with individual rooms being single-sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
. In the early 2000s, dorms that allowed people of opposite sexes to share a room became available in some public universities. Some colleges and university coeducational dormitories also feature coeducational bathrooms.
Most residence halls are much closer to campus than comparable private housing such as apartment buildings. This convenience is a major factor in the choice of where to live since living physically closer to classrooms is often preferred, particularly for first-year students who may not be permitted to park vehicles on campus. Universities may therefore provide priority to first-year students when allocating this accommodation.
Halls located away from university facilities sometimes have extra amenities such as a recreation room or bar. As with campus located residence halls, these off-campus halls commonly also have Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
facilities, either through a network connection in each student room
ResNet
A ResNet , which stands for residential network , is a relatively large local area network or a metropolitan area network provided by a university that serves the personal computers of students in their residence halls or dormitory buildings...
, a central computer cluster room, or Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
. Catered halls may charge for food by the meal or through a termly subscription. They may also contain basic kitchen facilities for student use outside catering hours. Most halls contain a laundry room.
In UK universities these buildings are usually called "halls of residence" (commonly referred to as "halls"), except at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, Durham
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, St Andrews, York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
, Lancaster
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...
and Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
where the residential accommodation is incorporated in each college's complex of buildings, and simply known as "rooms". (Members of the college who live in its own buildings are usually said to be "living in", or "living in college"), although "halls of residence" is still used at times.
The majority of bedrooms in UK halls are now single occupancy - offering the first chance at privacy for some young people who shared bedrooms with siblings at home. Kitchen facilities are usually shared, as are bathrooms in some halls, though more expensive en suite rooms are available in some universities.
In Germany there are dormitories called "Studentenwohnheim" (plural: Studentenwohnheime). Most Studentenwohnheime are run by the Studentenwerk
Studentenwerk
A Studentenwerk is a semi-governmental institution in Germany that provides services to college and university students. Usually there is one Studentenwerk for all colleges and universities in a city or region...
("student union", an organisation providing social, financial and cultural support services to students in Germany). Some are run by a Catholic or Protestant church. Church-run facilities are sometimes single-sex.
Studentenwohnheime may be on Campus or outside of Campus. They are usually low cost and serve poorer students.
Terminology
Residence Life
Residence Life is the terminology used to describe the comprehensive program that surrounds the experience of living "on-campus" in a residence hall at a college or university in Canada and the United States...
community, the term "residence hall" is preferred. According to the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, their facilities "provide not just a place to sleep, but also opportunities for personal and educational growth. Highly trained Residence Life staff and Hall Government officers support this objective by creating engaging activities and programs in each hall or complex."
Notable dormitories
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
in East Lansing, Michigan has the largest residence hall system
Michigan State University Housing
Michigan State University Housing is a large and complex network of housing for students and faculty of Michigan State University, most of the housing is in the form of residence halls on the school's campus, but there are also the University apartments, fraternity and sorority housing, and...
in the United States. 16,000 students live within 23 different undergraduate buildings, one graduate hall, and three apartment villages. Freshmen are required to live on the 45,000+ student campus for at least their first year. Watterson Towers
Watterson Towers
Watterson Towers, a student residence hall at Illinois State University, is one of the tallest dormitories in the world. Located in Normal, Illinois, at the corner of Fell and Beaufort Streets, it was completed in 1967. The 28-story complex holds over 2,200 students and stands at 91m . Watterson...
at Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
are among the tallest residence halls in the world. The 28-story complex, which was built in 1967 holds over 2,200 students and its buildings are 91 meters tall.
The Sandburg Halls
Sandburg Halls
Sandburg Halls is a student residence hall on Maryland Ave, Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the campus of University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. The building consists of four high rise towers and is the largest student residence hall of the school with 2,700-student housing capacity. The north and west...
at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee consists of four high rise towers, with the tallest being the northern most tower reaching 74 metres (242.8 ft) tall (building), and 146.8 metres (481.6 ft) (radio antenna). The halls combined have a total housing capacity of 2,700 students.
Dobie Center
Dobie Center
Dobie Center, named after J. Frank Dobie, is a privately owned twenty-seven story residence hall located adjacent to the University of Texas at Austin campus. In addition to being a private residence for students, Dobie also contains a two-story mall, a movie theatre, restaurants, and specialty...
, an off-campus, 27-story private dormitory next to The University of Texas at Austin, stands at 112 metres (367.5 ft). In addition to being a private residence for students, Dobie also contains a 2-story mall, a movie theater, restaurants, and specialty stores.
The Valkendorfs Kollegium
Valkendorfs Kollegium
Valkendorfs Kollegium is the oldest dormitory in Denmark and was founded on 26 February 1589 by the nobleman Christopher Valkendorf. The building he purchased was originally a monastery. The dormitory suffered a great deal during the Great Fire of Copenhagen in 1728. Though most of the brickwork...
at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
was founded in 1589. Though not as old as some of the colleges of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, it is among the oldest dormitories in the world. The Stone Frigate
Stone frigate
Stone frigate is a nickname for a naval establishment on land. The term has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French...
at Royal Military College of Canada
Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
was constructed in 1820 to store part of the dismantled fleet from the War of 1812. The former warehouse was converted into a dormitory and classrooms when the college was established in 1874. The Stone Frigate, a designated heritage building, was closed for more than 18 months for major renovations to the interior and exterior of the dormitory. The Capstone House at University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
completed in 1967, standing at 18 stories, has the only revolving restaurant on an American college campus located on the 18th floor known as Top of Carolina Dining Room.
Nido Spitalfields
Nido Spitalfields
Nido Spitalfields is the tallest student accommodation building in the world. It is located at 100 Middlesex Street in Spitalfields, London, England. Prior to completion in 2010, the tallest student accommodation building in the world was Sky Plaza in Leeds....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
is the world's tallest student accommodation building, standing at 105 metres (344.5 ft), with 33 floors. It was completed in 2010 and claimed the title from the previous record holder, Sky Plaza in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
which stands just two metres lower.
Hall governments
At some institutes, each residence hall has its own hall council. Where they exist, such individual councils are usually part of a larger organization called, variously, Residence Hall AssociationResidence hall association
In the United States, a Residence Hall Association is a student-run university residence hall governing body. It is usually the parent organization for individual hall governments. Their function is similar to a student government, except that most of their activities pertain to on-campus living...
, Resident Students Association, or Junior Common Room Committee which typically provides funds and oversees the individual building council. These student led organizations are typically connected at a national level by the National Association of College and University Residence Halls
National Association of College and University Residence Halls
The National Association of College and University Residence Halls Incorporated is an international organization made up of eight regions. The eight regions cover the entire United States, Canada, parts of Mexico, Qatar, and Australia...
(NACURH). Collectively, these hall councils plan social and educational events, and voice student needs to their respective administration.
Staffing
In the United States, university residence halls are normally staffed by a combination of both students and professional residence life staff. Student staff members or Resident AssistantResident assistant
A resident assistant , commonly shortened to RA is a trained peer leader who supervises those living in a residence hall or group housing facility...
s, act as liaisons, counselors, mediators and policy enforcers. The student staff is supervised by a graduate student or a full-time residence life professional. Staff members frequently arrange programming activities to help residents learn about social and academic life during their college life.
In the United Kingdom, halls often run a similar setup to that in the U.S, although the resident academic responsible for the hall is known by the term of "warden" and may be supported by a team of vice-wardens, sub-wardens or senior-members; forming the SCR
Common Room (university)
In some universities in the United Kingdom — particularly collegiate universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Durham — students and the academic body are organised into common rooms...
(Senior Common Room). These are often students or academic staff at the relevant university/college. Many UK halls also have a JCR
Common Room (university)
In some universities in the United Kingdom — particularly collegiate universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Durham — students and the academic body are organised into common rooms...
(Junior Common Room) committee, usually made up of second year students who stayed in that hall during their first year.
The facilities in the hall are often managed by an individual termed the Bursar. Residence Halls may have housekeeping staff to maintain the cleanliness of common rooms including lobbies and bathrooms. Students are normally required to maintain the cleanliness of their own rooms and private or semi-private bathrooms, where offered.
United States military
Dormitories have replaced barracksBarracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
at most U.S. military installations. Much new construction includes private bathrooms, but most unaccompanied housing still features bathrooms between pairs of rooms. Traditional communal shower facilities, typically one per floor, are now considered substandard and are being phased out.
U.S. military dormitory accommodations are generally intended for two junior enlisted single personnel per room, although in most cases this is slowly being phased out in favor of single occupancy in accordance with newer Department of Defense standards.
All branches of the U.S. military except the Air Force still refer to these dormitory-style accommodations as "barracks". The Air Force, in contrast, refers to all unaccompanied housing as "dormitories", including open-bay barracks used for basic training
Basic Training
Basic Training may refer to:* Basic Training, a 1971 American documentary directed by Frederick Wiseman* Basic Training , an American sex comedy* Recruit training...
that house dozens per room, as well as unaccompanied housing for senior ranking personnel, which resemble apartments and are only found in a select number of overseas locations.
Sleeping dormitories
In the U.S., UK and Canada, a dormitory has a different meaning, and is used for a room with more than one bed. Examples are found in British boarding schools and many rooming houses such as hostelHostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
s but have nowadays completely vanished as a type of accommodation in university halls of residence. CADs, or Cold-Air Dormitories, are found in multi-level rooming houses such as fraternities, sororities, and cooperative houses. In CADs and in hostels, the room typically has very few furnishings except for beds. Such rooms can contain anywhere from three to 50 beds (though such very large dormitories are rare except perhaps as military barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
). Such rooms provide little or no privacy for the residents, and very limited storage for personal items in or near the beds.
Company dormitories
While the practice of housing employees in company-owned dormitories has dwindled, several companies continue this practice in the U.S. and other countries.Cast Members in the Disney College Program at the Walt Disney World Resort have the opportunity to meet and live with other Cast Members within their housing complexes in Lake Buena Vista, FL. In the Netherlands, the law forbids companies to offer housing to their employees, because the government wants to prevent people who have just lost their job adding to their stressful situation by having to search for new housing. In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, many of the larger companies as well as some of the ministries still offer to their newly graduated freshmen a room in a dormitory. A room in such a dormitory often comes with a communal cook (for the men) or rooms with furnished kitchen blocks (for the women). Usually the employees pay a very small amount of money to enable the men (especially) to save money to buy a house when they get married.
Prisons
Housing units in prisons that house more than the one or two inmates normally held in cells are referred to as "dormitories" as well. Housing arrangements can vary widely. In some cases, dormitories in low-security prisons may almost resemble their academic counterparts, with the obvious differences of being locked at night, being administered by jailers, and subject to stricter institutional rules and fewer amenities. In other institutions, dormitories may be large rooms, often converted from other purposes such as gymnasiums in response to overcrowding, in which hundreds of prisoners have bunks and lockers.Floating dormitories
A floating dormitory is a water-borne vessel that provides, as its primary function, living quarters for students enrolled at an educational institution. A floating dormitory functions as a conventional land-based dormitory in all respects except that the living quarters are aboard a floating vessel. A floating dormitory is most often moored in place near the host educational facility and is not used for water transport. Dormitory ships may also refer to vessels that provide water-borne housing in support of non-academic enterprises such as off-shore oil drilling operations. Other vessels containing living quarters for students as ancillary support to the vessel's primary function — such as for providing maritime or other training given aboard the vessel — are more appropriately categorized as training ships.Notable among floating dormitories is SS Stevens
SS Stevens
SS Stevens, a , 14,893-ton ship, served as a floating dormitory from 1968 to 1975 for about 150 students of Stevens Institute of Technology, a technological university, in Hoboken, NJ...
, a 473-foot, 14,893-ton ship operated by Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
, a technological university, in Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
. From 1968 to 1975, Stevens served as the floating dormitory for as many as 150 students of the institute.
See also
- List of dormitory buildings
- HostelHostelHostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
- BarracksBarracksBarracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
- Public housingPublic housingPublic housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
- Scholarship hall