James Latham, the UK’s biggest independent panel and timber products distributor, is now offering two RIBA approved CPD seminars at its impressive product specification showroom in the heart of London’s architectural and design community.

Showcasing an enormous range of Latham’s exclusive and semi-exclusive materials, the showroom - which is located at Suite 301 of the Business Design Centre in Islington - has been created to inspire architects and designers, provide expert advice and enable them to keep abreast of the latest trends and developments in surface solutions.

The two CPD seminars, cover Acrylic Based Solid Surface and Performance Door Blanks. Both have been developed in conjunction with the RIBA, and offer a unique opportunity for all construction and design professionals to gain up-to-date knowledge and enhance personal proficiency as well as earn CPD points.

The performance door blanks CPD focusses on five key learning aims and addresses the concept and significance of performance door blanks. It looks at the appropriate documents that make up Building Regulations and its limitations and conflicts. It also allows those attending to develop an appreciation of door testing and rating for such things as fire and acoustics and demonstrates how this is driven through the increasing demands of legislation as well as looking at some of the developmental areas in door blanks. Created specifically for architects and designers, the Acrylic Based Solid Surface CPD seminar provides a greater understanding of this versatile material and its potential applications and assists with specifications and material choices.

The session covers a number of areas including; raw materials, an overview of sheet manufacturing techniques, an overview of fabrication techniques, plus commercial and residential applications including thermoforming and translucency. Steven Dennard, Specification Manager for Structural Products as well as the Group Door Manager, commented, “Both of these seminars provide educational learning to architects and other specifiers and have been assessed by the RIBA so carry the prestige, good name and industry respect that the RIBA, with its 175-year heritage, provides. He added, “All the material we offer is rigorously assessed within strict best practice guidelines by the team of assessors - all of whom are RIBA members and practising architects themselves - to ensure that the seminars are as current and relevant as possible.”