Close to 1500 people squeezed into the Grosvenor House Hotel last Wednesday to watch the seventh Building Awards. Here's what they saw
A record audience of nearly 1500 industry leaders crammed into the Great Room of London's Grosvenor House Hotel last Wednesday for the seventh Building Awards.

Last year's awards featured a video speech from Tony Blair. This year, the event was compered by a man who does a very good impression of the prime minister: Rory Bremner. TV's top impressionist had the audience convulsed with laughter with a brilliant series of impressions of everyone from Blair to William Hague and even Nelson Mandela.

The awards themselves featured two new prizes, one for the company with the most innovative approach to sustainability, the other for the best e-construction initiative. Probably the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Marks Barfield Architects, which brought its entire team along to see it win the Architectural practice of the year award for the phenomenal success of the London Eye.

After the ceremony, a charity casino sponsored by Bovis Lend Lease raised more than £5000 for Crash, the construction industry's charity for homeless people.

Building Awards 2001