He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Ljubljana in 1981 and completed his postgraduate studies at IUAV in Venice in 1983/84. From 1982 to 2010, he worked as an independent architect in Ljubljana and was a member of DESSA and Arhe. From the early 1980s until 2005, he served on the editorial board and was the technical and artistic editor of the Krt book series, which received the Plečnik Award in 1988 for its work in architectural theory. He has been a member of the editorial board of an international journal for architectural theory and criticism since 1986, and since 1995, he has also been its chief editor. He has written over 300 original articles and essays in books and professional and popular media. From 2003 to 2006, he was the president of DAL, and from 2006 onwards, he has been the president of the Plečnik Fund. Since 2010, he has been a professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana.

He is also a founding member of the Atelje Dešman bureau (1983–2003) and the Dans arhitekti bureau since 2004.

Awards (selection): Piranesi Award 1990, European Prize for Public Space 2012, Golden Pencil Award 2013, First National Award for Best Wooden Construction 2013, Architizer A+ Award 2016 (jury winner), nomination for the Mies Van der Rohe Award 2017, first prize at the Novi Sad Architecture Salon in the architecture category 2018, etc.