Feeling SAD? Beat the gloom with these light-filled London homes, from converted schools to artists' studios

If you asked most of us to describe the tenets of contemporary architecture, few would fail to mention the 'glass box' with its vast walls of full-height glazing.

But architects have long employed a toolbox of tricks to maximise natural light, from angled glazing, popular in 1960s and 70s apartment blocks, to lantern skylights and internal atriums.