A look at the cityscape shows that not only are green buildings becoming part of the mainstream in Chicago, but architects are creating them as spaces that help people live better and more healthy lives.

It’s not just green roofs. 

It’s about creating environmentally responsible and healthy places to work, said Taryn Holowka, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington-based coalition of builders, architects, government agencies and non-profit groups.

Rush University Medical Center has applied for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the Green Building Council for its new hospital building, part of an $850 million comprehensive campus transformation plan.

“It will be the 1^st hospital in Chicago to have LEED certification,” said Joe DeVoss, Rush assistant vice president for campus transformation.

“Patients and employees are going to feel a difference when they walk in the hospital,” Holowka said.

The hospital is being designed with environmentally friendly features including large expanses of glass for natural light, windows and skylights, pervious paving that absorbs rainwater, recycled materials for walkways and parking lots and healing gardens with native plants.

It’s one of hundreds of projects in the nation registered for LEED approval. Chicago has 138 projects currently in the certification process—the highest number in the nation, according to the council.

In Chicago, 18 buildings already have LEED-certification, including the Oriole Park branch of the Chicago Public Library on the Northwest Side, the Morgan Park District of the Chicago Police Department and the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Wicker Park.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology has “platinum” certification, which makes it one of only 13 buildings in the nation to achieve the highest level of sustainability. The building is 52 percent more energy-efficient than a typical building designed to Chicago energy code standards.

While special care is given to saving money on electricity and using less energy and water, the hospital staff and patients may get the biggest benefits from some unexpected features.

Rachel Scheu, an employee who works at the neighborhood technology headquarters, said everyone is happy with the way the building turned out:  “One of my colleagues has bad allergies and when he’s in the building his symptoms are alleviated.  We have a shower room for people who bike to work in the morning.  Leftovers from lunch are put into a compost that’s used to fertilize the garden.”

“There’s a lot more that goes into the LEED buildings than what you see on the surface,” Holowka said. “People spend 90 percent of their day inside.  LEED makes sure its buildings have windows that you can actually open and get fresh air.”

The hospital will have toilets with dual flush systems and sinks with low-flow controls, Holowka said. “It’s so important in a hospital … do you know how many toilet flushes and hand washes that’s going to save!”

For buildings looking to get LEED certification, USGBC has a checklist of 69 items that include incentives to use alternative transportation, preferred parking for hybrids and carpooling, water efficient landscaping, renewable energy, recycling construction materials, natural lighting and the elimination of toxic paints and other hazardous materials.

After visiting a LEED-certified building in Boulder, Colorado, DeVoss said, “It’s just the right thing to do.”

He added that new research is showing that LEED buildings are healthier for occupants. According to the Green Building Council, a review of more than 600 studies on the effects of hospital design on patient well-being found evidence of reduced infection.

Rush is just completing the schematic design phase and expects to open its new hospital in early 2012.

“Transformation will continue even after the hospital is built,” DeVoss said. “Certainly can’t build a LEED building and continue using Styrofoam cups.”