DESSA Architecture Centre

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DESSA Arhitekturni center

Židovska steza 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana

http://www.dessa.si

ljdessa1@guest.arnes.si

Phone386 (0) 1 251 4074

The Association of Freelance Architects DESSA was founded in 1982 by 36 architects with the primary purpose of helping private architects work in a socialist society. It has provided both a business framework and a physical space for the activities of freelance architects who work in various design fields, ranging from urban planning, architecture, interior and graphic design to theatre set design.

Today DESSA Architecture Centre and Association works as a non-profit architecture organization managing Arhitectural Gallery DESSA, publishing professional literature, organising lectures, excursions, and around ten exhibitions of architecture each year, many of them international. DESSA is also one of the leading associations to nominate architectural achievements for international Mies van der Rohe prize.

The acronym DESSA stands for "Delovna skupnost samostojnih arhitektov", which is the Slovene term for The Association of Freelance Architects. With the possibility to establish private offices for architecture and in cooperation with the economic sector the role of DESSA changed. From the association many famous and prosperous studios arise, naming only Atelier, Bevk-Perović Arhitekti, Ravnikar-Potokar Architecture Bureau and several others.

Background

The DESSA facility in Židovska steza was designed by world famous architect Boris Podrecca free of charge, following the principles of Gottfried Semper. The place is composed of four rooms, each devoted to a different building material--stone for the gallery, wood for the library, plastic for the office and textile for the meeting room.

In 1991 DESSA founded Arhé, a design firm which at first assisted members to produce and sell architectural designs, but later took over all commerce and financial responsibilities of DESSA, thus allowing the Association to focus on cultural activities pertinent to the field of architecture. Today the branch Arhé is still “covering” several groups of architects, but became only one of the actual providers on the market.

In 1996, with 74 of its founding members, DESSA restructured itself and registered as a non-profit cultural institution, DESSA Architecture Centre, with the objective of elevating general social awareness of the cultural value of architecture.

See also

• Arhitectural Gallery DESSA

External links

• DESSA website