The International Architecture Exhibition will be held from June to November every two years in the Giardini and Arsenale venues in Venice.
The Mostra di Architettura di Venezia, the Architecture section of the Venice Biennale, was established in 1980, although architecture had been a part of the art biennale since 1968. The Biennale is an occasion where big-name architects and designers can showcase new projects, arranged in different pavilions, each with different themes.
The Giardini area is the historical site of the Biennale, whereas it was the Architecture section that reopened the Arsenale in 1980 using the site as an exhibition venue, which in subsequent years was extended to further Arsenale areas.