The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam is a biennial event that gathers knowledge and experience in the designing disciplines (architecture, urban design and landscape architecture) from all over the world and brings them to Rotterdam to present them to a broad audience.

The IABR brings together architects, urban designers, theorists, students, developers, policy makers and politicians from home and abroad. This biennale differs from other biennales in that it features not only exhibitions but, primarily working with a young generation of architects, does research as well.

Initiative
In 1999 Kristin Feireiss, then director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI), initiated an international architecture biennale in the Netherlands. The country increasingly became a major focus of international architecture debate. The idea was enthusiastically received and the required support was mobilized.

The First Two Biennales
The first International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam opened on 7 May 2003. Its theme was Mobility: A Room with a View, its curator Francine Houben (Mecanoo). The curator of the second biennale entitled The Flood, which opened on 26 May 2005, was Adriaan Geuze (West 8).