RIBA Buckinghamshire: A Morning of CPD with Crown Paints

Join RIBA Buckinghamshire and Crown Paints for a CPD morning exploring the role of colour in design, from technical paint foundations through to colour psychology and its impact on people, place and wellbeing.

This session will include two CPD modules delivered by Crown Paints, with a comfort break and time for questions and discussion. The morning is designed to be useful for architects, designers, specifiers and built environment professionals looking to strengthen their understanding of paint specification and the wider role of colour in design.

This CPD morning will combine a technical overview of paint and coatings with a broader discussion on the impact of colour within the built environment.

The Paint Foundations session will provide useful guidance on understanding paint systems, specification considerations and the practical factors that influence performance and finish.

The Colour Psychology session will then explore the role colour can play in shaping how spaces feel and function, considering its impact on atmosphere, comfort, wellbeing and user experience.

Crown Paints has been manufacturing paint in the UK for more than 200 years and works with architects, designers and specifiers across a wide range of sectors. Their specification team supports projects through technical guidance, colour expertise and product advice.

Lauren Burnett is an Architectural & Design Consultant at Crown Paints, working with architects and specifiers across all sectors from commercial and residential to hospitality and healthcare. With a background in Interior Design, Lauren brings a design‑led, yet technically grounded approach. to specification, materiality and colour strategy. Her role focuses on supporting compliant, performance‑driven paint and coating specifications, advising on substrates, durability, and lifecycle performance, while ensuring alignment with sustainability goals. Passionate about responsible design, Lauren works closely with project teams to integrate low‑VOC solutions, longevity‑focused specifications and clear design direction, helping translate creative intent into practical, buildable outcomes.

This event is suitable for architects, designers, specifiers, students and anyone with an interest in colour, materiality and paint specification.

MK Gallery is an award-winning contemporary art gallery in the heart of Milton Keynes, designed by 6a Architects.

The building received a RIBA South Award 2021, RIBA South Project Architect of the Year 2021 and a RIBA National Award 2021. The RIBA judges described it as “a building designed for now and the future”, highlighting its crafted design, reconfigured interior spaces and strong use of colour and materials.

9:00am
Arrival, tea, coffee and pastries

9:15am
Welcome and introduction from RIBA Buckinghamshire

9:20am
CPD Session 1: Paint Foundations
An introduction to the key principles of paint specification, including product types, performance considerations, substrates, preparation and how to select appropriate coatings for different environments.

10:20am
Comfort break

10:35am
CPD Session 2: Colour Psychology
A design-focused session exploring how colour can influence mood, behaviour and experience within interior environments, and how colour choices can support wellbeing, identity and sense of place.

11:35am
Q&A and discussion

11:50am
Networking

12:00pm
Event close

Accessibility

MK Gallery has step-free access to the main reception, café, shop, galleries, Project Space, Event Space, Learning Studio, Sky Room and Changing Places toilet. The main entrance is located at street level, with automatic double doors and a lowered help desk on arrival.

The Sky Room auditorium can currently accommodate two wheelchair users, due to fire regulations, and front-row seating is also suitable for visitors with limited mobility. Please contact the venue in advance if you require a wheelchair space or specific seating.

Accessible and gender-neutral toilets are available on the second floor via lift, and there is also a Changing Places toilet on the ground floor. Assistance dogs are welcome, and a hearing loop system is available in the Sky Room.

For specific access queries, please contact MK Gallery directly at [email protected] or call 01908 676900. More information is available on MK Gallery’s accessibility page.

MK Gallery is located in the heart of Milton Keynes, at the junction of Midsummer Boulevard and Marlborough Gate, beside Milton Keynes Theatre on Margaret Powell Square.

By car

From the M1, exit at Junction 14 and follow signs for Central Milton Keynes.

From the A5, exit at the A509 Portway junction and follow signs for Central Milton Keynes.

By train
Milton Keynes Central Station is around 30 minutes from London Euston on the Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow main line. Please allow approximately 25 minutes to walk from the station to MK Gallery.

By bus
Regular local bus services, including routes 1–8 and 300, run from Milton Keynes Central Station. Buses can be taken from stops Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y5. Please ask for the Theatre District stop on Midsummer Boulevard.

Parking
MK Gallery has four free disabled parking spaces located outside the front of the gallery. To reserve one of these spaces, please contact the venue on 01908 676900 or email [email protected].

In Central Milton Keynes, disabled drivers may park free of charge in Council Pay and Display bays or reserved disabled bays for an unlimited period of time, provided that a valid Blue Badge is clearly displayed.

MK Gallery’s what3words address is: ///trespass.abruptly.hurtles

Dietary requirements

Please let us know about any dietary requirements or allergies when booking your ticket, so we can share these with the venue in advance.

Filming and Photography

By accepting an invitation or purchasing a ticket you have consented to being photographed, filmed or recorded as a visitor attending the event for all general purposes in relation to the event including without limitation, publicity and promotional purposes. You consent to us using your voice, name and/or likeness, without compensation, for exploitation in promotional and publicity materials, online, books, newspapers, newsletters, magazine articles and social marketing whenever we choose to do so, in perpetuity.

Ticket prices

We charge a nominal fee for our tickets. However, if you are suffering hardship or financial constraint, please email us and we will be able to help.

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