The architecture program at Western Sydney is one of the youngest, but fastest growing in Australia, servicing the third largest economy in the country, and a huge geographical and demographic area of immense and continual change. Underpinned by diversity, Western Sydney is now the centre of many of the most interesting and provocative architectural projects in Australia and, combined with the transformations in infrastructure and cultural investment, is witnessing a period of unprecedented growth, expansion and adaptation. The importance of architecture in these broader cycles of urban transformation is significant, not only shaping the quality of buildings that we work and live in, but also the cities, streets and urban spaces we share as a community.

I am delighted to be a part of the project of architecture in Western Sydney and to work with the talented pool of students and staff that the program attracts. As the program continues to grow, and its graduates move into the workforce, these students will shape the communities, environments and architecture of this important region as well as many others. This exhibition, in the heart of the Parramatta CBD, is the start of an important and ongoing conversation in which young, talented people can engage creatively with the significant issues and pressures of the built environment and frame architectural proposals for its most important and strategic sites.