David is the Managing Director of Fortis and one of the founders. He believes that technical excellence is the driver for positive change and strides to provide this through façade consultancy.

David offers a rare quality through his lineage that comprises of working for international world leading contractors as well as consultancies. This allows him to offer insight and value through multi-perspective thinking whilst demonstrating comprehensive understanding. His experience extends through the UK, Europe, Australasian and the Emirates markets and across public, health, residential, commercial, defence, government and education sectors.

He has a passion for working along side his staff, whilst adopting a stance of encouragement for further learning through continued development for the employees of Fortis. This is key to ensuring people grow and enjoy the balance of a career in façade engineering.

Chris celebrates hands on façade consultancy. Whether attending workshops assisting with buildability, attending site-based façade inspections or troubleshooting dissimilar material joinery. He also has a passion for historic restoration and retention of façade vernacular and the way in which investigations are executed. His career started working for specialist façade sub-contractors and in later years, moved to consultancy which provides a genuinely helpful blended approach to facades.
Specialising in mechanical engineering with a focus on manufacturing processes, he has incorporated this into façade engineering. Providing advice from advance material science to physical production type and setup along with quality assurance as the principle binder for delivery. He then went on to work for one of the largest producers of structural steel in North America where he furthered his knowledge in manufacturing methods and design techniques for use in super high-rise construction. Chris complimented this not only with the ability to refine the primary materials but also the specialist temporary works that allowed the installations to commence.
Chris returned to the U.K. to reside, where he designed and oversaw the production and installation of complex free-flowing forms of GRP façade systems and other, more standardised works. He is familiar working as a lead consultant at façade consultancies and now brings his diverse experience, technical approach and character to Fortis.
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Saba has worked in Southeast Asia, the wider Asia Pacific and now Europe/UK for the last 15 years. She brings not only an appreciation for region specific construction methods but the understanding of procurement routes and the accompanying standards.

Refreshingly when Saba came to us, she requested to be on our sites as much as possible which aligned perfectly with our tenet; can’t be tied to the screen whilst working with product that is designed for the outdoors.

Saba has BSc. in Civil Engineering and MSc. in Sustainable Concrete Structures with Construction Management.

Tom joins the dialogue between façade engineering and our planet’s atmosphere. This is fundamental, not only in relation to sustainability in short and long-term environmental impacts but also for developing an accurate resilience design framework; after all, our buildings sit within the atmosphere.

Tom and the team pioneer analytics of our atmospheric conditions on façade materials across all biomes, not only through physical elemental influences, but across the spectrum. He develops specifications that are reflective and that respond to the present, whilst providing technical comprehension of climatic future trends and the associated positive and negative effects on façade fabric.

Whilst Tom specialises in meteorology and climatology, it was his broader understanding of the environment and a very rare desire to connect the built world to more realistic environmental considerations. He has an exceptional research capability which has led to his focus on paleoecology, palynology, and geological aspects of his previous works. He has worked on behalf of and with the Royal Geographic Society, Charlton Kings Flood Action Group and the British Antarctic Survey.

Mark is, in our opinion, one of the keystones in the world of masonry façades with his unique career working with stone spanning over 35 years.

Starting out as a stonemason, physically crafting and installing stone before entering consultancy, he has the rare qualifications that allow him to not only consult on UK and international procurement but provide insight on design and manufacturing best practice. Mark’s appreciation of the way in which we ascertain stone data, conduct testing, and carry out real-world design and installation offers very honest and exact advice on masonry construction; we place this at the centre of consultancy as the approach celebrates the minutia detail and techniques that are not always available in guidance or code, offering more balanced engineering.

His masonry work on The Bank of England can still be viewed today, whilst his input into Bart Square, Goldman Sachs HQ and Cambridge University are also still appreciated through the stone vernaculars.

Mark oversees our stone and general masonry component at Fortis, managing new and heritage works along with R&D. Mark also helps develop drivers for more sustainable practices in relation to the procurement and utilisation of stone.

Lovely’s unitised curtain walling and off-site optimisation knowledge allows for accountable feedback not only in relation to material selection and operations but also embodied carbon within procurement, facilitating more complete decision making.

Lovely assists with our bespoke glass engineering along with window, custom stick system design across all material mediums and stone façade engineering. She also works with the development of our climatic studies in relation to pressure equalisation and delimiting device design for legacy and updated atmospheric profiles for current market systems; as the planet’s climate changes our building fabrics must accommodate accordingly.

Her appreciation of Middle Eastern building techniques and understanding the regional differences of both contemporary and heritage construction bring context to the practice.

Mark is all the brilliant things about engineering. He is the definition of balanced, his insight and composure match his ability to rationalise, prove and sometimes disprove through engineering theory. He has a wonderful aptitude that offers joined-up façade engineering that is not just desktop centric but genuinely helpful for those relying on validation as well as procurement, fabrication and installation.

Mark has an extensive experience of over 14 years in the façade industry and has been involved with one of the largest façade manufacturing companies worldwide prior to joining Fortis. He has in depth technical experience in engineering design and analysis of glass, aluminium, unitized and stick curtain wall, skylights, glass fins, point-supported wall, balustrades, bricks, cladding, architectural steel structure as well as external building features like canopies and louvers. Mark has experience in the UK, Europe, Asia, Middle-east and North America codes and standards.

He is proficient in several structural analysis and thermal analysis software. He is committed to broadening his knowledge of engineering and different façade system types.

Jyoti, brings over 13 years of extensive experience in façade industry, leaving an incredible mark on the skyline of both Dubai and India. Her career trajectory has evolved from her early days in design to becoming a proactive and determined façade technical coordinator working for façade sub-contractors, exhibiting a positive approach to collaborative work within multidisciplinary teams.

With over 7 years of on-site construction experience, Jyoti brings an invaluable advantage to the table. Her hands-on involvement in actual construction processes has provided her with keen insight into the practical challenges that can arise on-site. This foresight allows Jyoti to implement necessary precautions and effective remedies, thereby adding an extra layer of value to every project she undertakes.

Her educational background in both architectural and civil engineering equipes her with a unique ability to comprehend intricate geometries and possess an in-depth understanding of building. This blend of knowledge empowers her to bridge theoretical expertise with practical application, serving as a testament to her holistic approach towards delivering excellence.

Eric is one of the founding partners of Fortis and brings over 12 years of specialism from working in the façade industry. He has worked across multiple façade typologies and has designed many from scratch, as well as coordinated to manufacture and installation.

He oversees our schemes in Australasia. His ability to combine façade engineering with critical path thinking, whilst at all times ensuring other disciplines are joined-up are traits few possess. Equally important is his dedication of the time he affords others through mentoring, ensuring that knowledge transcends to the next wave of façade engineers.

Eric balances his engineering and consultancy judgements from his experience of working in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres and at cross longitudes. He has worked in the UK, Macau and across Australia where he manages projects and coordinates with the wider Australasian region.

Saima has a degree in Architecture, BA (Hons) as well as an Architecture and the Sustainable Environment, MSc. She provides insight across industry typical and non-typical façade construction.

With her specialism in historic building technologies and their conditions, Saima eloquently combines modern sustainable practices with her understanding of former building techniques that are not just centric to Europe. She has studied the construction of colonial dwellings, their associated performance characteristics and how this has in turn influenced regional design.

Saima is experienced in fieldwork and has a genuine hands-on attitude to accountability through practical and desktop analysis, this makes for a measured and balanced judgment when consulting on the application of appropriate material design.

Her passion is to bring design to fruition which adopts sustainable practices from inception to physical installation. Her ability to challenge the sequence of procurement whilst ensuring that the extraction is ethical, is welcome support to the practice.

William is a fully qualified Architect who has migrated across to façade consultancy. His experience ranges from early concept design to monitoring façade installation. His skill as an Architect enables the connection between form and function through balanced engineering dialogue.

He has worked both nationally and globally, joining Fortis specifically to bridge our international projects. His sector work experience includes working with public bodies and private clients, on high-end residential projects, hospitals and transport developments. William has also worked on the UNESCO world heritage site, The New Town – Edinburgh.

Whether it be innovation or combining modern material design with traditional, William’s ability to research and justify each condition, is a level of detailing needed in the construction industry.

William communicates through all mediums, one of his best is his drawn designs accompanied by his staged and easy to follow writing style; this makes for clear and traceable decision making.