The exhibition is held at two venues in Venice’s Castello: the Arsenale di Venezia and the Giardini della Biennale. In addition to the main exhibition, the Biennale features pavilions representing over 60 counties.

The two main venues contrast in character. The Arsenale consists of a complex of historic buildings, formerly of military and maritime uses. The Giardini, formed by Napoleon, was the site of the first exhibition in 1895, and the location of the national pavilions the first to be constructed in 1907.. These pavilions were designed by architects including Josef Hoffman, Carlo Scarpa and Alvar Aalto. Ireland’s pavilion is usually in a room, situated in the Arsenale.

The first International Architectural Exhibition was held in 1980 and directed by Paolo Portoghesi. Subsequent exhibitions were curated by famous architects including Aldo Rossi, Hans Hollein, David Chipperfield, Rem Koolhaas, and Yvonne Farrell and Shelly McNamara of the Grafton Architects in 2018. Ireland has been represented in the Architectural Biennale since 2000.