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Metapmorphosis. Transformation. That is the theme of the 9th International architectural exhibition that comprises the 2004 Venice Biennale. As usual, some play by the theme, and some don't. There is the usual wild variation of quality between the offerings of the national pavilions in the Giardini, and the usual punishingly huge but generally higher-quality international exhibition - designed this time with bird-cum-boat display stands by Asympote - in the ancient buildings of the Arsenale. All you can do is skim through a few times, and see what sticks in the mind, and what does not. This year, the force is with Ireland, while a sometimes superficial joie de vivre informs the offerings of nations such as Great Britain, Japan and Denmark, the United States is deeply forgettable, and Germany boldly tackles nowhere-land.

Take Ireland first. Usually a fringe player, this time Ireland hits the spot and most closely embraces the theme of the Biennale. Its offering is a building, an installation, a memory of hard times and savage abuse, and an object lesson in how perceptions can be turned round. Ireland displays a single project ripe with meaning, adroitly displayed as an independent work of architecture in its own right. And - a difficult thing to achieve in this jostling casbah of a show - it occupies a prominent position befitting its status. A large and noble space in the building known as the Artiglierie, at a natural break-point in the long trudge through the stupendous Arsenale buildings, has given Ireland its most prominent Biennale location yet. Commissioner Shane O'Toole has done well.