A FAMILY home that added a touch of Mediterranean glamour to a drab North-East landscape won one of the region's coveted property Oscars.

Art Deco-styled Tindale Towers, built by businessman Mike Keen between a scrap yard and a bypass on the edge of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, was one of the stars of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors annual Renaissance Awards at the Civic Centre, Newcastle.

Inspired by beach houses Mr Keen saw in Florida and the South of France, the palm-fringed, £2m property won the Residential award and was praised by judges for its originality and its high standards of design and construction.

Millions of viewers were given a television tour of the house when it appeared on I Own Britain's Best Home on Thursday.

Other projects to be honoured last night included the redevelopment of Sunniside Gardens, which has become a catalyst for regeneration in the east end of Sunderland city centre, and the redeveloped Live Theatre on the Quayside in Newcastle, which won both the Tourism & Leisure and Building Conservation categories.

Northumbria University's landmark City Campus East buildings, in Newcastle, took the award for Sustainability, as well as the overall accolade for Project of the Year.

Judges' chairman David Furniss, director and head of Atisreal, in Newcastle, said: "It is great to see such high standards of design and construction right here in the North-East.

"Buildings like Tindale Towers offices can hold their own against anything else in the world, combining original thought and detailing with high quality construction and usability."

Jennifer Welch, Operations Director for RICS North, said: "The quality of entries this year has continued to demonstrate the high standards of design and construction that the industry is achieving in the North East.

"This is the fifth year of the Renaissance Awards and we've seen some truly world class projects that are playing a hugely positive role in the lives of the people who live, work and relax in and around them."

The judging panel for the Renaissance Awards is made up of property professionals, including many chartered surveyors.

Each of the eight categories have their own criteria.

Winners from four categories automatically go through to the international RICS Awards which will be held in October in London.

Last year's North East Project of the Year, the Rivergreen Centre, at Aykley Heads, in Durham, took the Sustainability Award in the face of stiff competition from around the world.

David Scurr, of sponsor RBS Property Finance, said: "Once again, the quality of the schemes entered has been a testament to the many successful regional developers and their professional advisors. As a chartered surveyor myself, it is a pleasure to celebrate the region's successes."

Renaissance Awards Winners Building Conservation: Live Theatre, Newcastle.

Commercial: Armstrong Richardson offices, Stokesley. Community Benefit: Aspen Gardens, Stockton. Commended: Alan Shearer Centre, Newcastle. Design & Innovation: City Campus East, Northumbria University, Newcastle.

Commended: The Round, Newcastle. Regeneration: Sunniside Gardens, Sunderland. Residential: Tindale Towers, Bishop Auckland. Sustainability: City Campus East, Northumbria University, Newcastle. Tourism & Leisure: Live Theatre, Newcastle. Project of the Year: City Campus East, Northumbria University, Newcastle