Windows are open so that fresh air filters in alongside the sounds of the outdoor world. Daylight streams through the hallways. The chemical smell associated with things like flooring, adhesives and paints is absent.

The $160-million expansion begun in 2005 is being constructed to achieve LEED Silver accreditation, said HOK Project Architect Hagen Materne.

"It means patients will get large day-lit windows and rooms, it means that there will be openable windows in the patient rooms," said Materne of the Calgary hospital project.

"It means staff will have areas they can go to that overlook the green roof or the vegetated roof for relaxation and a little bit of respite.

"It's built right into the building."

The emphasis on green design has more than just therapeutic benefits, though, he said.

Construction materials have a high degree of recycled content and site waste is being recycled, Materne said. Energy and water savings will be huge, he said.

"Long-term operating costs will be lower, and it means we have less impact on the environment from many aspects."

The project is the first time the health region has followed LEED guidelines, said Ed Mercier, the health region's director of the capital project for the centre.

"A few of us around the table talked about it a lot and saw the advantages, especially from an energy point of view, that would result from a building that was green or environmentally friendly."

Between two and three per cent of construction costs were set aside to do LEED, he said. He's estimating the hospital will see about 30 per cent in energy savings.

Source: "Lougheed Project Rides Green Wave," Calgary Herald, January 25, 2007, by Jamie Komarnicki.