Xavier Pascal Coste (26 November 1787; Marseille - 8 February 1879) was a French architect. His father was one of the leading joiners in Marseille. Showing intellectual and artistic promise; Pascal began his studies in the studio of Penchaud; architect of the d閜artement and the municipalit? In 1814; he was received into the 蒫ole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His time in Paris was a pivotal one in his life - there he met the geographer Edme Fran鏾is Jomard; who put him in touch with the viceroy of Egypt; Mehmet Ali; who took Coste on as his architect in 1817.

In 1825 Coste returned to France with an impressive series of drawings of the architecture of Cairo; but he soon went to Egypt once again at Mehmet Ali's request; where Mehmet Ali made him chief engineer for Lower Egypt. Coste remained there for four years; during which time he accumulated many sketches; but he found the Egyptian climate difficult and returned to France in 1829. There he became a professor of architecture at the 蒫ole des Beaux-Arts in Paris; thanks to the links he had kept up with Penchaud. He remained in this post until 1861; when he was one of the founder members of the intellectual centre known as the Ath閚閑.

In parallel with these activities he travelled around France and to Germany; Belgium and Tunisia and produced several authoritative works on architecture - his Architecture arabe (1827) earned him a place on the French king's embassy to the Shah of Iran. In Iran Coste and the painter Eug鑞e Flandin were authorised to visit the ruins of Ecbatana; Bishtun; Taq-e Bostan; Sarpol-e Zahab; Pasargadae and Persepolis; where he made many sketches. On his return via Baghdad; he saw the ruins of Seleucia; Ctesiphon and Babylon. He continued via Nineveh; to which the archaeologist Paul 蒻ile Botta was also travelling to begin his excavations.