The Ecole Militaire in Paris was designed by architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel for Louis XV, and the structure was inspired by secular principles and built on a monumental scale. This was in 1750, and the structure incorporated the latest trends in hygiene by providing single rooms instead of dormitories for its aristocratic pupils in order to avoid the spread of infection, such as had happened in other schools before this time. The Ecole Militaire was built in part in order to top the design of the nearby L'h"tel national des Invalides, built by Louis XIV as a military hospital with the latest advances and with a massive design encompassing several buildings in one. The Ecole Militaire and the L'h"tel national des Invalides face one another across what was once an expanse of open land, but urbanization has affected and surrounded both, as have modern roads and a never-ending stream of vehicles passing before and around both institutions.
Architecture in Paris changed after the death of Louis XIV in 1715. Ancient columns had been used as symbols of pomp and majesty, and they were now forsaken in favor of rococo curves and ornamentation. Few buildings of importance were built in the period immediately after the death of the king except for the Elysee Palace, which was started in 1718 for the Comte d'Evreux and which would be used after 1873 as the residence of French presidents. In 1739, a map of Paris was prepared, and it gives a good view of the city at this time, showing it as very different from the paris that would emerge from renovations in the nineteenth century. In the early eighteenth century, the city contained several large formal gardens such as the Luxembourg and the Tiuleries. There were two or three large squares, such as the Place des Vosges or the Place Vend"me. Also evident were a few long boulevards and a number of baroque public buildings such as the Louvres and the Invalides. This would change in the la...