The École spéciale d'architecture (ÉSA; formerly École centrale d'architecture) is a private school for architecture 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. It was endorsed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, a childhood friend, who after many infructuous attempts at reforming the École des Beaux-Arts 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, Eugène Flachat, Dupont de l'Eure, Jean-Baptiste André Godin, and Émile Muller.
