As venues for Awards ceremonies go, the Natural History Museum in London’s South Kensington is more impressive and imposing than most.
Tonight it was the venue for the tenth annual CEDIA Awards, hosted by Danny Wallace – CEDIA is an international trade association of companies that specialise in designing and installing electronic systems for the home, and is a leading education and technical resource for a huge number of companies and professionals within these industries.
Each entry in each category is judged by an expert panel drawn from the disciplines of architechture, interiors, IT, journalism, property and custom installation – as one of those honoured few (you can meet them all here) I’m able to confirm the highest standards of scrutiny for each and every entry.
Admittedly some of the categories (I’m thinking Best Dressed Rack - yes, you read that correctly - and Best Energy Management Solution in particular) are at more than one remove for the subjects we cover here at whathifi.com.
But there were still plenty of Awards for projects far more likely to whet your appetite/turn you green with envy:
Best Media Room under £10K
Highgate Media Room Loft Space
London, UK
The brief was for a multi-function media room in the loft-space of a four-storey Victorian townhouse, creating a 5.1 cinema experience while still having the ability to use the room as an office.
Best Media Room over £10K
Hidden Cinema
London, UK
The client required a multi-function 8/10-seater cinema that could also be used as a family space.
Best Integrated Home under £100K
Smart Contemporary Living
Nicosia, Cyprus
A wide-ranging project as part of the construction of a new building, with the ability to play music in all areas (11 discrete zones in total) and as much of the technology as possible to be ‘invisible’.
Best Integrated Home £100K - £250K
Golf Loft
Brussels, Belgium
This building was previously a tribunal court, and the client added a 900 m2 penthouse on the roof. Part of the brief specified a ‘kick-ass’ sound system in the two main living zones.
Best Integrated Home over £250K
JewelBox
Lausanne, Switzerland
Put simply, the client wanted to create the most eco-friendly and technologically advanced house in Switzerland.
Best Home Cinema under £40K
Leafield House
Yoxall, UK
This was to replace a previous (and not very successful) cinema room, and was to be somewhere the client’s family want to spend time.
Best Home Cinema £40K - £100K
Connoisseur Cinema
Krakow, Poland
To deliver a flawless acoustic cinema room with state-of-the-art picture and sound quality, plus full integration with the house’s other systems.
Best Home Cinema over £100K
The Red Carpet Cinema
New Dehli, India
The client demanded as many seats as possible in the space and a screen that fitted from edge to edge of the wall. Eight subwoofers was deemed just about acceptable.