I had the same type of residence hall as Def123. A sink in each room with a toilet block and a shower block in the middle of each floor of the residence hall. Being naive at the time, I was convinced that I was being naughty and no other resident had ever, ever, ever done such a thing as piss in the room sink!
My residence hall costs the same as did the residence hall that had en suite bathrooms. The difference is that in my residence hall we had private rooms where in the other residence hall there were two guys to a room sharing one toilet and shower with each room having its own sink.
It was several years later when I in conversations with other guys in similar situations in the past that I was not the only guy to do it, it was the very rare guy who did not do such a thing as piss in the room sink.
Residence halls have evolved dramatically over time. One hundred twenty five or so years ago, there was the outside toilet where lime, I think it was, was sprinkled over certain waste from the function we don't talk much about here to help with smell, and to keep the flies away. There was the hand pump outside as well to get water to take inside for the sinks.
The big change came with the addition of the big room. Rows of toilets, sinks, and shower heads all hanging off the walls in clusters with mirrors over the sinks giving you a bird's eye view of the entire room and at all angles. Shaving could take ages if enough guys were showering at the time.
After a few weeks of this, all the guys were walking to this big room in the nude with their towels hanging over their shoulders with their shaving gear in hand. Modesty was gone. After everyone had seen each other nude more than once with certain parts of the body in normal state, an semi aroused state and in a stage of shrinkage, what was the point of being modest?
Then came the stalls for the toilets and dividers for the urinals. After that three sided showers were installed. In time a curtain was added.
Then came the bathrooms with sink, toilet, and bathtub all in one room between two rooms that had two mates meaning four guys. That became problematic being shy as it would take ages for each guy to have the bathroom all by himself doing everything in the morning.
So, the sink was moved to the rooms. Now there were two sinks for the two rooms.
I've not seen the latest, but I have heard about how residence halls are built now. Four lads share a suite. There are two bedrooms, two lads for each bedroom, an area with two dressing tables with sinks, a toilet with a full door for privacy, and an enclosed shower with door. That way all four lads can be using a sink, the toilet, or shower at the same time and then they could switch places getting everyone in and out rapidly and all maintaining modesty if they wish. There is a also common study and relaxing area with each lad having his own desk with computer connections. In some residence halls, the desks might be in the bedrooms.
I wouldn't be surprised if each bedroom had a TV connection and there also be a TV connection for the common area in each suite.
If there were only two guys per suite, that would really be as good as living in an apartment off campus since meals in the cafeteria would be provided as part of the residence hall costs. Now there are two prices for meals: One for M-F for those who go home on the weekend and another price for Sun-Sun. No need to worry about cooking.
A very large common room with a at least 65 inch top of the line TV hooked up to fantastic speaker system which can also used for any music system and a kitchenette with several tables for each floor for game parties, etc.
When I was in university there was just one TV downstairs in the lobby of the residence hall. Once and a while I might to select which of the three channels available I wanted to see. Some had their own TVs, but reception was snowy. Only the TV in the lobby had an outside antenna to pick up signals from the TV towers miles and miles away!
When I was much younger than I am now, there was a summer conference that I attended. We were housed in the old dorm built in the 1890s now gone for decades. For one week I had the pleasure of no air conditioning and the temperature about normal for hell itself and the one big great room with the shower heads, toilets, and sinks all hanging off the wall with no dividers of any kind!
There was a grandness to the old building with 12 foot ceilings and plaster walls with intricate wood work - very Victorian. A grand staircase with only two stories. There were also oak hardwood floors which I did not really appreciate at the time. However, the structure was all wood. It was considered a fire trap, not maintained at the end and then torn down.
I was against tearing it down. I had no official voice in the decision, but I did let my opinion known. They said the grand ole building was about to fall in. The crew sent in to tear it down said otherwise. Twelve inch thick virgin oak timbers provided great strength.
The veranda around it had been removed several years before that time. But there were pictures of the grand building that are still around.
Those of you from Europe may not understand what is old here in the US particularly beyond the 13 original colonies on the East Coast.
Something built before 1900 is ancient. A building 50 years old needs to come down now. It is old, very old.
I do understand why it is done on so many campuses. A new building built to modern standards costs a certain amount. Add twenty percent to make the new building look like the old building it is replacing. Add at least another 20 % to redo the old building.
Waiting until the entire building is in a major state of repair makes tearing down old buildings here in the US the cheapest option. When the entire electrical, plumbing, climate control systems have to be replaced and the old building doesn't meet the standards in place at that moment in time presents even more problems.
Twelve inch think square hardwood oak timbers didn't meet the standard. Fire hazard they said. New criteria require steel. At the same time it is cheaper to get insurance on a church that had solid oak arches in the sanctuary than it is if those arches are made of steel. That is because in a fire, the steel arches will bend and the building is lost. The oak arches will need decorative work done, but unless the building burns to the ground, the oak timbers will be left standing and in perfect shape so the building can be rebuilt!
Welcome to the world of American specifications for buildings! Those specs change rapidly. Better get that building finished before the specifications change on you!
Having said that, I would have redone those big bathrooms with plumbing jutting out of the wall and zero privacy if that grand old residence hall had been saved. That is, unless, my job description was to monitor this room and hand out towels to the guys after they showered.
Watching to make sure they cleaned everything to my satisfaction.
After all, all the guys have to be at least 18 to go to stay in this dorm!
Someday Americans will learn to appreciate the best from the past. If the building is on the East or West coasts we are already there. Not so much in the interior of the US. Some interior areas of the US were not open for development until 1880. From a European view point, everything in some areas of the US is new!