Since its foundation in 1910, the Residencia de Estudiantes has distinguished itself for its will to open towards Europe. This attitude turned the Residencia into a centre open to the ideas of avant-garde art and to scientific and humanistic thought, and thanks to this approach these came in the voice of their creators.

The main figures of modern architecture came to the Residencia between 1928 and 1934, and, as Le Corbusier, they passed by its auditorium to pronounce their respective lectures: Erich Mendelsohn disseminated his particular encouragement in favour of an architecture that combined dynamism and functionality; Theo van Doesburg gave a neoplasticist discourse that synthesized the visual arts and architecture; Walter Gropius, the founder of Bauhaus and supporter of the precise adjustment between the architectonic forms and their functions; Sigfried Giedion spoke about his formulations on the new vision in modern art and architecture, and Edwin Lutyens, who, on the contrary, vindicated tradition. These lectures not only made the Residencia a focal point for the diffusion and propaganda of these creators in Spain, but also attracted a public and a young generation of architects avid to renovate the stagnant architectonic panorama of the time.