RIAS CPD
Practice Seminar 2025: At the Heart of Practice
Tuesday 9th September 2025, 10.00am-14.30pm
Il Salotto, 20 Bell St, Glasgow
In this seminar, kindly hosted by Il Salotto in Glasgow, we are pleased to present a number of core curriculum topics at the heart of practice.
Over the course of the day, we will cover familiar issues including contract administration and fire & life safety along with new research and insight on topics including place-based net zero carbon and social inclusion.
Our first speaker, David Wilson, Construction Law Specialist at Morton Fraser MacRoberts, joins us to share his expertise on key contract administration issues, including adjudication and collateral warranties, loss and expense notice provisions and contractor termination notices.
We will then be joined by Sandy Killbourn and Danny Howie from Gartcarron Fire Engineering to cover Section 2: Fire compliance and advice for developing appropriate fire safety strategies in new and existing buildings, including adaptive reuse.
After Lunch, we will focus on environmental sustainability and Anderson Bell Christie's new publication 'Balance' with F. Pelin Ekdi and Jonathan McQuillan, an initiative aimed at reducing embodied carbon in construction to achieve place-based net zero by 2045 with urban greening.
Our final presentation of the day will come from Lesley Palmer, Director of INCH Architecture and Professor of Ageing and Dementia Design at the University of Stirling. Lesley joins us to share insights from her recent research into Virtual Reality (VR) as a co-design tool for including underrepresented groups into the architectural design process.
There will be the opportunity for networking and book sales throughout. Lunch at this event is included in the ticket price. Amanda Connolly, National Specification Manager at Knauf joins us for an interactive preview of her lunch and learn, "Knauf Transform Your Spaces with Multi-Material Ceiling & Wall Solutions".
This session follows the success of our recent Practice Essentials event in Edinburgh. Feedback from previous attendees can be found below:
“I found the full day CPD with multiple speakers to be a very good use of time and way of connecting with others”
“An excellent and informative day of presentations and a welcome opportunity to meet and discuss some of the issues with other professionals”
“All very informative and interesting, good cross section of topics required in practice, thank you for organising, stunning location and delicious food too. Great to have the opportunity for networking also, thank you”.
For speaker biographies, please see below. Block booking discounts can be found here: https://media.rias.org.uk/files/2024/03/22/A00B9814-C2E6-23E5-821F-3A6A7DE2AB6E.pdf
We are grateful to Il Salotto, Knauf and Gartcarron for their support. You can download the full programme here: https://media.rias.org.uk/files/2025/08/27/E6303299-4975-5B6D-039C-7D16B97A676C.pdf
RIAS CPD
Practice Seminar 2025: At the Heart of Practice
Speaker biographies:
David Wilson - Consultant, Morton Fraser MacRoberts
David Wilson is a Consultant in MFMac's Construction team and a recognised authority in construction law. Accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Construction Law, David brings over two decades of experience advising on complex arbitration and adjudication matters. He is frequently sought after by adjudicators for his legal insight and is a regular lecturer on key issues shaping the construction industry.
As a seasoned litigator, David has acted for both pursuers and defenders in high-value commercial disputes before the Court of Session. His deep understanding of the commercial and political pressures facing clients across both public and private sectors enables him to deliver pragmatic, results-driven legal solutions. David’s strategic approach and legal acumen make him a trusted adviser in contentious and non-contentious construction matters alike.
Sandy Killbourn - Managing Director, Gartcarron Fire Engineering
Sandy Killbourn is an ex local authority fire officer with over 31 years experience in the fire service, twenty three years front line fire safety management.
This experience has been built-up through the compiling and inspection of fire certificates under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and subsequently the auditing of Fire Risk Assessments under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.
He has a BSc (Hons) degree in Fire Risk Engineering, and has been the lead officer for the local fire service, in conjunction with building standard’s verifiers, in the approval of numerous proposals requiring fire engineered solutions.
Sandy will be joined by his colleague, Danny Howie.
Amanda Connolly - National Specification Manager, Knauf
Amanda Connolly has over 25 years in the construction industry. Before joining her current role with Knauf Ceiling Solutions as National Specification Manager, Amanda graduated with a Diploma in Acoustics & Noise Control, Building Acoustics, Noise and Vibration Control Engineering. As an Acoustician, Amanda is passionate about Acoustics and how this plays a vital part in all projects and in her role, works closely with Architects, Main Contractors, Designers to achieve meaningful change.
Jonathan McQuillan - Director, Anderson Bell & Christie.
Jonathan McQuillan is an Employee Owner, Architect and Director at Anderson Bell Christie. He specialises in sustainable design, retrofit, and net-zero strategies, with work that has shaped Scottish building standards and design guidance.
F. Pelin Ekdi - Carbon Balance Consultant, Anderson Bell & Christie.
F. Pelin Ekdi is carbon balance consultant at Anderson Bell Christie with a PhD in Urban Planning, specializing in sustainable urbanism, place-based net-zero solutions, and nature-based solutions.
Lesley Palmer - Professor of Ageing and Dementia Design, University of Stirling/ Director, Inch Architecture
Lesley Palmer is an experienced UK based architect, member of the Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland, Royal Institute of British Architects, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. She has a Master of Science for Urban Design and a Batchelor of Science with Honours in Architectural Studies. Her career to date includes architectural practice, academic teaching, knowledge exchange and research.
Lesley’s substantive post is as Professor of Ageing and Dementia Design within the Centre for Environments, Dementia and Ageing Research group at the University of Stirling, Scotland. She works globally Teaching, researching and supporting commercial clients in Japan, India, Australia, America, and Europe, advising on the adoption of evidence-based design principles of ageing and dementia-friendly design into capital development projects.
Lesley is the also the co-founder and Director of INCH Architecture & Design Ltd, an award winning social-enterprise architecture practice based in Glasgow. Additionally, Lesley is a co-founder and shareholder in Iridis Digital Ltd, a joint venture with the University of Stirling and Space Group (Europe) Ltd. The objective of the company is to develop novel products within the ageing sector.
Lesley’s field of research and expertise is in the design of the built environment for ageing and dementia. This is a niche area of environmental design which includes research into building performance, sensing technologies, virtual and augmented reality, dementia design of products, architecture, and urban design. Her interests also extend to housing policy and investigating future models of sustainable housing design, procurement, and construction with an intergenerational focus.