06659 spad ESA facade bd Raspail Paris maitrier

The École spéciale d'architecture (ÉSA; formerly École centrale d'architecture) is a private school for

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

at 254, boulevard Raspail in Paris, France. The diploma from the École spéciale d'architecture (DESA), recognized by the State since 1934, entitles the holder to registration with the Order of Architects. The school was founded in 1865 by engineer Emile Trélat as reaction against the educational monopoly of

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and ...

. It was endorsed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, a childhood friend, who after many infructuous attempts at reforming the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

had imagined the idea in 1863. Viollet le Duc provided many of the educational precepts and became one of its original stockholders, along with other notables including : Ferdinand de Lesseps,

Anatole de Baudot Joseph-Eugène-Anatole de Baudot (14 October 1834 – 28 February 1915) was a French architect and a pioneer of reinforced-concrete construction. He was a prolific author, architect for diocesan buildings, architect for historical monuments, a ...

, Eugène Flachat, Dupont de l'Eure, Jean-Baptiste André Godin, and Émile Muller. Even at its beginning it included innovative courses such as domestic

hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

and urban

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

. It was officially recognized as providing "public utility" in 1870, and recognized by the state as an institution of

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

in 1934. Today, the school issues the ''Architecte DE'' degree awarding a master's degree in architecture, and the ''Architecte DESA, HMONP'' degree, recognized by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

allowing architects to open their own architectural practice, and is organized into five departments: :Architecture and Environment :Visual Arts and Representation :History and Human Science :Building Science and Technology :Computer applications and Communications. It is a "free school" governed in part by its students and alumni. Major decisions are taken by the administrative council and the general assembly consisting of students, alumni, teaching staff and administrators. It has an international exchange student program with the Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design, in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States, and with the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States. Notable students and staff include Ricardo Larraín Bravo, Pierre Karkar, Albert Besson, Jon Condoret, Jules Dormal Godet, Robert Mallet-Stevens,

Farah Pahlavi Farah Pahlavi (; []; born 14 October 1938) is the former Queen and last Empress () of Pahlavi Iran and is the third wife and widow of the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. She was born into a prosperous Ira ...

, Auguste Perret, Henri Prost, Vartan Hovanessian, René Sergent, Luis Malausséna, Paul Virilio, and

Christian de Portzamparc Christian de Portzamparc (; born 5 May 1944) is a French architect and urbanist. He graduated from the École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1970. His projects reflect a sensibility to their environment and to urbanism that is a found ...

References

External links

Official website
Architecture schools in France Educational institutions established in 1865 * 1865 establishments in France Architecture of Paris {{France-university-stub