Renew Newcastle founder Marcus Westbury has thanked the University's graduating Master of Architecture students for inspiring him to see the city in a new, exciting light.

The cultural advocate officially opened the Master of Architecture Program's Heist Exhibition at Newcastle Town Hall last Monday night, November 12.

The exhibition showcased the spectacular visions about 40 students have for the region.

Westbury said he was "blown away" by what he had seen, with students taking many of the problems Renew Newcastle has tried to fix and using them "as raw material for imagination and possibility".

"What I love about architecture is the possibility for imagination," he told the crowd of students, staff, industry people, and community members. 

 "It's wonderful to see the students engaging with the possibility of place and space - it's inspired me to see the city in a way that I've never seen before.

"Thank you for inspiring me." 

Coffee houses, marine research centres, digital libraries, arts venues, biomimicry laboratories and cooking schools were among the diverse array of architectural concepts on display at the exhibition, which ran until November 13.

Graduating student Steani Cilliers said these unique visions for Newcastle were the result of tireless hard work.

"It takes a lot of passion and commitment to get to this point," Steani commented in a graceful address to the audience. "Five years is a long time to study architecture."

On behalf of all the students, Steani thanked staff, friends and family for "being there through the frustration, the tears and anxiety, as well as the rare eureka moments".

She gave a special mention to tutors Chris Tucker and Mark Taylor for their endless help and support.

You can find out more about the School of Architecture and Built Environment and the Architecture programs on offer here.