View source for Architectural Gallery DESSA

{{Article
| status       = NIFERTIK!
| maintainer   = Michael Jumic
}}

{{Infobox
| name               = Architectural Gallery DESSA
| localname          = Galerija DESSA
| logo              = 
| street             = Židovska steza 4
| town               = SI-1000 Ljubljana
| map               = http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lon=14.504759&lat=46.048593&zoom=18&layer=mapnik
| website            = http://www.dessa.si
| email              = galerija@dessa.si
| telephone          = 386 (0) 1 251 6010
| fax                = 386 (0) 1 251 4074
| founded by         =
| managed by         = DESSA Architecture Centre
| opening hours      = Mon-Fri 10am-3pm, Sat-Sun and holiday closed
| contacts     = {{Contact
  | name        = Maja Ivanič
  | role        = Director
  | email       = galerija@dessa.si
  | telephone   = 
  }}
|accounts=
https://www.instagram.com/piranski_dnevi_arhitekture/?igshid=1sjl5y6nfaiah
https://www.facebook.com/galerijaDessa/
}}

{{Teaser|
[[Architectural Gallery DESSA]] is the first and also the only specialised architectural gallery in Slovenia. In its 30-plus years of activity, it has sought to present and promote quality architecture, innovative design and socially engaged projects. The gallery has the status of a non-governmental organisation, and functions under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Spatial Planning.

   
}}

==Activities==

Besides yearly presentations of Plečnik Award winners, the gallery hosts a wide range of exhibitions and lectures aimed at heightening awareness of the untold richness of Slovenian architecture: an exhibition celebrating 100 years of residential apartment design was held in 2016, and a similar project highlighting the architecture of preschools and elementary schools in Ljubljana followed in 2020.

Conversely, the gallery has provided a window into the work of internationally renowned architects: Juhani Pallasmaa, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Wiel Arets, David Chipperfield, Luis Carillho da Graça Joao are just a sample of the architects who have presented at DESSA over the years.

The gallery is also active in presenting Slovenian architecture abroad: in 2010 it organised the Contemporary Architecture in Slovenia 1999&ndash;2010 exhibition. Curated by [[Andrej Hrausky]] and [[Maja Ivanič]], the exhibition was presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje (Northern Macedonia) in the framework of the 15th Architectural Biennial of Macedonia &ndash; BIMAS 2010.


==Space==

The location of the DESSA gallery and office complex today was once the site of a synagogue. After a fire destroyed it in 1213, it was rebuilt on a larger scale. In the 16th century, the synagogue was converted to a Catholic chapel, which was demolished in the 19th century. 

The current building at Židovska steza 4 in Ljubljana's city centre was built before the Ljubljana earthquake in 1895 and served several functions. In the 1930s, it housed a restaurant, after World War II it became a music school and later a craftsmen's workshop.

[[DESSA Architecture Centre]] was founded in 1982. Its members quickly identified a need for their own exhibition space. They enlisted internationally renowned architect [[Boris Podrecca]] to draw up the first plans for the gallery space in 1987. The space follows the principles of Gottfried Semper, and is composed of four rooms, each devoted to a different building material &ndash; stone for the gallery, wood for the library, plastic for the office, and textile for the meeting room. All items except the chairs were made especially for DESSA; the chairs, designed by [[Niko Kralj]] in the 1950s, were donated by the manufacturer, Stol Kamnik. The corporate identity of the gallery was designed by [[Ranko Novak]].

 
==Exhibition space==

*'''Dimensions:''' 34m² (7.5m x 4.5m x 3.3m H) incorporating 13 linear metres of wall space
*'''Installation system:''' glass panels (11 glass panels 1m x 1.8m and 6 glass panels 0.33m x 1.8m)
*'''Lighting:''' halogen lighting system

==See also==

* [[DESSA Architecture Centre]]

==External links==

* [http://www.dessa.si DESSA website] 

[[Category:Architecture]]
[[Category:Architecture exhibition venues]]
[[Category:Exhibition venues]]

[[Category:Venues]]
[[Category:Galleries]]
[[Category:Updated 2020]]
[[Category:Architecture & Design]]