Foster + Partners cleared over man’s death when window fell from London penthouse

The architecture firm founded by Norman Foster has been cleared over the death of a man who was struck by a falling windowpane from a newly built London penthouse.However, a jury at Inner London Crown Court found St James, the project managers for the building where the incident occurred, and the project's engineers, Lindner Prater, guilty of safety breaches over the death.Mr Ferris was killed instantly when a 130kg glass windowpane, measuring about 190cm by 85cm, fell 25 storeys (around 300 feet) from a penthouse apartment onto the pavement below.The 53-year-old was a driver for the National Express-owned firm Clarkes Of London and, according to a colleague, had been with the company for more than 30 years.In the wake of his death, he has been described on social media as a “really nice” man.The court heard that, just over a year earlier, another window panel had fallen from the same development. "Miraculously" no one was injured, but no changes were made to the design following that incident, jurors were told.During the trial, which began in July 2026, prosecutors for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) argued that the developers ignored "foreseeable risks".The court heard that the penthouse windows were originally designed to open inwards safely, but the design was changed to outward-opening windows to avoid clashing with an internal ceiling coffer containing pipes and wiring.Mr Ferris was killed when a window was blown off its hinges before construction of the building had been completed, the jury heard.Jurors were told that a restrictor designed to prevent the window from being blown off had been removed.Read MoreThey also heard that a woman pushing a wheelchair narrowly escaped being struck by the falling glass.All four defendants denied the charges and claimed they did all that was reasonably practicable to ensure safety.A missing window on the top floor of The Corniche, a luxury block of flats on the Albert Embankment, central London, following the death of Mick FerrisPA ArchiveAfter more than 11 hours of deliberations, the jury cleared Foster + Partners (F+P) and the building’s design engineers, Wintech Ltd. However, it found St James and Lindner Prater had failed in their duty to protect the public under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.Prosecutor Gordon Menzies told the jury it “wasn’t an accident waiting to happen … it was an accident that had already happened in August 2017. The prosecution say it was an accident waiting to happen again.”Jurors were told that after the first window panel fell from the building and “miraculously no-one was killed or injured” on August 18 2017, the developers failed to use the incident as a reason to “go back to the drawing board”.Jurors were shown an email sent to Fosters in the wake of the first incident noting “concerns raised” about another window falling in the future.“It’s reasonably practical for someone in Fosters’ position when someone is querying your design to actually go back and look at it properly,” said Mr Menzies.He added that construction workers were told “not to open the windows at all”, and small written warnings were put up next to the windows for residents.The prosecution took jurors through eight “missed opportunities” where the developers could have considered the risk of the outward facing windows.“Effectively the designers were hoping the residents would not forget to close their windows,” said Gordon Menzies, prosecuting. A spokesperson for F+P said: “Our thoughts remain with Mr Ferris’s family, as they have since October 2018. We note the court’s decision and are grateful to the jury for the time and care they have taken in considering this matter.”A spokesperson for Wintech said: “While the court has reached its conclusion, the tragedy of what happened remains. It is vital that we continue to reflect and learn, and as an industry, remain committed to strengthening standards and practices to help prevent such incidents in the future.”A spokesperson for St James said: "The death of Mick Ferris in 2018 was tragic. Our thoughts remain with his family and friends. We acknowledge today’s verdict and will carefully consider its implications."Linder Prater has been contacted by The Standard for comment.