ABSTRACT
In the early 1970s a new era of rapid expansion of universities in Western countries began. The rapid transition from elite university to mass university with an exponential increase of the number of students made the available spaces inadequate. Existing universities expanded in new peripheral areas and new universities were established. Many researches on the design of new settlements started. Today the situation has changed. We are experiencing a period of stabilization in university enrolment and many countries have undertook a process of spending review and of reorganization of public institutions. This involves the reduction of inefficiency in the use of spaces which can be a big challenge especially for European historic universities with heterogeneous building stocks. Thus a revision of the indices in literature and in handbooks and of regulatory standards for building design for university buildings aiming at evaluating the correspondence between functions and spaces in historic buildings and at minimizing the impact of the reuse on the built heritage.
