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In Gabriel's first draft of 1751, the building was conceived as an educational institution for young aristocrats and was intended to rival the nearby Hôtel-des-Invalides. The version actually implemented as a military academy was limited to the château-style principal building. The main façade facing the Champs de Mars, drawn together by a strongly projecting entablature, is dominated by the central pavilion. Its domed roof on a square base and the austere pedimented windows draw on French 17th-century tradition.
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