On the 20th June The Honourable Justin Madden, State Minister for Planning launched the 'Agenda for Architecture, New Trends of Architecture in Europe and Asia-Pacific 2006-2007' exhibition at the award winning, ARM designed, RMIT Gallery, Storey Hall, Melbourne. Professor Margaret Gardner AO, Vice Chancellor and President of RMIT University, welcomed the Minister in the presence of the Victorian Patron, State Government Architect John Denton. In the audience were Rei Maeda of Art Front Gallery, the Tokyo based organization that coordinates the international biennale, foundation patron Daniel Besen, RMIT Adjunct Professor and New Trends advisor for SE Asia - William Lim (Singapore), Professor Leon van Schaik AO (Executive member of the New Trends Committee and advisor for Australasia), Alison Carroll (Asialink), exhibition participants Gary Chang (Hong Kong), Minsuk Cho (Korea), Veronika Valk (Estonia), Taira Nishizawa (Japan), Benoit Durandin (representing R&Sie, France), Adrian Iredale and Martyn Hook (IPH Architects) and Sean Godsell (Sean Godsell Architects).

Professor Margaret Gardner AO, said: "The exhibition seeks to create dynamic encounters between Europe, Asia and the Pacific architects and architectural cultures promoting an international exchange of innovative and diverse architectural ideas and practices, and public discourse on architecture with associated public events, symposia and workshops."

The Minister saw the exhibition as recognition of his government's commitment to fostering an innovative, contemporary architectural culture in this city and across Victoria. He argued that architecture was more than aesthetics, form and function, it must provide a response to the challenges of climate change, changing populations, growing divides between advantaged and disadvantaged and rising resource costs. He looked forward to seeing exciting architectural innovations coming out of the inspiring collaboration of the New Trends biennale.

Professor van Schaik thanked the Minister for his encouragement and commended the sponsors for the Melbourne leg of the Biennale, who are VESKI (the Victorian Endowment for Science Knowledge and Innovation) who continue to acknowledge the importance of engaging Victoria's young architects with their peers in the world at large; the State Government Architect's Office which supports the dissemination of design excellence to the wider public; The Japan Australia Foundation which supports the interaction between the two countries manifested in this biennale, and the Besen Foundation which continues to support the growth of the local architectural culture through the connections made to architectural peers abroad.

Participating architects were joined by locals to visit new architectural works by local architects in the foothills of the Great Dividing range and were hosted to a lunch at the TarraWarra Museum of Art by Daniel Besen. Following the launch participants were treated to a tour of the new buildings on Melbourne's civic spine. That evening participants joined local architects and designers in a seminar in the gallery at which the participants described the propositional basis of their work, and this was discussed with the invited audience. On the following evening Professor van Schaik hosted the participants in a presentation to students staff and practitioners that made a celebratory end to the academic term for RMIT Architecture.

Then exhibition is open until the 28th of July, and thousands of visits by school children, students and practitioners and the general public are anticipated. The Biennale then moves to Perth, where it opens in mid August.

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