Design Tech International Limited, (DTI) has been awarded a bronze award of excellence from the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) for their work on the world headquarters of Tyco International, a company with substantial global interests in Bermuda.

The award was handed out at a gala dinner in Toronto, the feature attraction of the IIDEX/Neocon trade fair held annually in Canada and the US.

However, project designer Cheryl MacKay and Robert Dwinnell, managing partner of DTI were unable to receive the award in Toronto due to last week's tragic attack on America.

"We were a little disappointed not being there," said Ms Mackay, "but winning this award was quite a thrill, particularly because we were in the Executive Office category competing with some of North America's best designers."

The competition attracted more than 130 submissions yielding only 29 awards in total.

Ms MacKay said: "This was one of those rare projects, an excellent client, an interesting building and the stated desire to articulate the attributes and philosophy of the company in the design solution."

In lieu of receiving the award in person, the designers and client celebrated the occasion at their own dinner on Thursday at the Harbourfront on Front Street, complete with Gombeys and champagne.

Guests received live updates from the awards ceremony in Toronto via cell phone as the evening progressed.

The Design Tech crew are not resting on their laurels however, and they have already moved onto several other projects, both on and off the island and are planning to enter another project in the awards competition next year.