Constructing new buildings with windows is not exactly rocket science, and it would seem that the Cumberland Infirmary is breaking the law in asking its employees to work in windowless workspaces (30 May, page 38).
There is a piece of legislation in this country called The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. Regulation 8 states that the lighting of a workplace shall, "so far as is reasonably practicable, be by natural light". Regrettably, although all architects are taught that the use of natural light is an essential part of the creation of lively and uplifting buildings, there appears to be unending pressure as a result of project processes or crude short-term economics to ignore this requirement of the law.

You highlighted another example (21 March, page 28) when you stated that in designing the new Selfridges in Birmingham, "Future Systems wanted to make the building transparent – but Selfridges vetoed this as it would make lighting the merchandise difficult". Most new office blocks in the City of London – the recently-completed 30 Finsbury Square being a good example – also ignore it, leaving workers consigned to a troglodytic existence.

Given the well-documented effects of lack of natural light on our health, it is an extraordinary indictment of the building industry and its clients that this still happens in the 21st century. And it indicates a lack of respect for the secondary legislation associated with the Health and Safety at Work Act, perhaps not entirely unconnected with the recently reported ignorance of the provisions of the CDM Regulations.

Postscript

Tim Gough, Austin Winkley & Associates, via email.