Facade and Materials Design Consultancy (FMDC Ltd) is a specialist façade consultancy bringing together design, engineering, and material expertise to deliver well-considered building envelopes. From concept to completion, they work collaboratively with architects, clients, and contractors to ensure façades perform as beautifully as they look. With deep knowledge across stone, glass, and metal, FMDC combine technical rigour with a clear understanding of materials — shaping solutions that are practical, elegant, and built to last. We spoke to FMDC's Lisa Nunn to discover what a typical day in her life looks like:

My day starts…

At the moment, my mornings involve reading my book and a nice warm bowl of porridge with honey. 

I am usually found working…

We have an office in London, really nicely located, so most of our projects are around the corner; however, you won’t often find me sitting at my desk. Most of our projects will require visits to site, be that an inspection of existing stone, viewing slabs for selection at a factory, or even visiting a quarry. These visits are often abroad, and I have been fortunate enough to travel around Europe, South America, the Middle East and China for work. 

My typical day involves…

One of the best things about my job is that there is no typical day. For the last two and a half years, I have been on-site most days and nights! I have actually just completed a job whereby I had to do mostly nightshifts, which involved inspecting stone façades from a BMU or MEWP. I had the most amazing views of St Paul's at night and saw many Supermoons! I do enjoy a day where I can be in the office and catch up with my colleagues; sometimes I don’t see them for weeks on end. Being in the office usually involves writing up the work I have done on-site or reviewing stone technical data and designs from our façade team. All in all, my days are varied and I love that. 

The thing that surprises me most about my job…

I am still learning new ways of how people are using stone; it is an ever-evolving process. We are currently researching the use of structural stone, alongside our façade team, and how elements of the design can reduce the embodied carbon of a project. There are many components to successfully using stone and I am really enjoying my encounters with such a variety of people and projects.

When I was younger, I wanted to be…

I was torn between geology and acting. I loved fossil hunting and volcanoes as a child (I still have my rock collection on display), but I also loved performing on stage. Luckily, I managed to do both - I became a geologist, but have done lots of amateur theatre, and I even have one professional credit to my name!

Something you might not know about me…

I volunteer as a leader with Girlguiding and am our District Commissioner. We run several units weekly, go on days out and residentials, including camping! It’s quite intense, but I like to think we are challenging girls to do their best and giving them skills for the future. 

My most memorable moment at work…

There have been several pinch-me moments in my career, but a few that have stuck with me are flying in a private jet to a quarry in Brazil, speaking at the ZAK World of Façades last year, and winning the Emerging Talent Award at the Stone Show this year.

If I could give one piece of advice to someone considering a career in the stone industry…

My advice would be, do it -  join us! There are many different roles; you can learn new skill sets and develop existing ones. Working in stone will constantly surprise you; there will be opportunities you never even dreamed of, and you’ll be contributing to an industry that has sustainability at its heart. 

For more information about the work Lisa and her team do visit: www.fmdc.co.uk