The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded Rush Oak Brook LEED Gold certification. Rush Oak Brook, located in Oak Brook, Illinois, is a joint venture between Rush University Medical Center and Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, a private practice physician group whose members are on the faculty at Rush University. The 100,000-square-foot medical office building houses a surgery center, 65 patient exam rooms, physical and occupational therapy, a sports performance center, a medical laboratory and imaging services, including MRI, X-ray and CT imaging with ultrasound and bone densitometry, as well as a comprehensive breast imaging program. The building opened in January 2019.
Rush Oak Brook earned high marks for green design, construction and operation. It achieved LEED Gold certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use and a variety of other sustainable strategies. A number of green features have been incorporated into the design, including the following:
Energy conservation
- Building systems minimize the emission of compounds that contribute to ozone depletion and global climate change.
- Modeled energy performance shows a 25% reduction in energy cost. All lighting in the building uses LED technology, providing energy savings over alternatives and eliminating the hazardous mercury waste associated with fluorescents and compact fluorescents technology.
Water conservation
- The site and landscape were designed to maintain or reduce storm water runoff and provide open space.
- Storm water is captured and treated onsite to minimize total suspended solids entering the municipal storm sewer system.
- Multi-level parking instead of surface parking has the benefits of including reduced and higher-quality storm water runoff, plus reduction of urban heat island effect.
- Water-efficient plumbing fixtures were installed throughout the building, improving efficiencies by 26%.
- Roofing material has a high solar reflective index, and landscaping and irrigation systems have been designed to reduce potable water consumption for irrigation by 60%.
- A commissioning process was used to ensure the building’s energy- and water-consuming systems were installed and operating as designed. Commissioning was also used to ensure that the building’s envelope was installed as designed for optimal energy performance.
Recycled materials
- 98% of construction waste was diverted from landfill disposal and sent to a mixed-recovery facility.
- 26% of the material used in the construction of the building was from recycled content.
- 35% of material was regionally sourced from within 500 miles of the project site.
- 91% of the wood-based building materials were certified in accordance with the sustainable forestry practices and criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council.
- Low-emitting materials were selected to reduce the indoor air quality issues often associated with standard products in new buildings.
