avant-corps

thumb|The garden façade of the Château de Maisons-Laffitte with three avant-corps, an arrangement typical of French Baroque [[châteaux]] thumb|The Osteiner Hof in [[Mainz with three avant-corps]]

An avant-corps ( or , plural , , ), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the corps de logis, often taller than other parts of the building. It is common in façades in French Baroque architecture.