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Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Monroe, MI

In 1885, the religious order of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM Sisters), was founded along the Raisin River in Monroe, MI, to provide educational opportunities for settlers in the area. The Sisters have taught throughout the U.S. and overseas; in the mid-1990s, they acquired an interest in teaching about sustainability and living according to its rules.

The Sisters’ focus was the outdated, inefficient Motherhouse that serves as the home for approximately 240 retired sisters and as the administrative headquarters for the congregation. In addition to the Motherhouse, the Sisters’ 238 acre campus includes St. Mary Center and the Visitation Spirituality Center, 35 acres of native woodlands, lawns, meadows, farm land, an organic garden, a cemetery and pond.

The 376,000 square foot Motherhouse was solidly built in 1932, but by the mid-1990s, many of the building’s systems had reached the end of their usefulness. The Sisters considered constructing a new building, but realized that it was more environmentally sound and consistent with their values to recycle the existing structure.

They gathered a number of collaborators for the project, hiring Susan Maxman & Partners of Philadelphia, PA, to create a master plan and direct the project that was to encompass both the buildings and the grounds. Rolf Sauer and Partners (now Viridian Landscape Studio), also of Philadelphia, served as the landscape architect and The Christman Company of Lansing, MI, was hired as the construction manager. The goal was to create a sustainable environment that would conserve energy now and in the future - one that could be a model for others as a place of transformation through education, serving as a 21st Century center of sustainable living and learning.

Whenever possible, ENERGY STAR qualified products were selected including everything from appliances to computers. The purchasers relied on the EPA ENERGY STAR Web site for category guidelines and product searches.

Reuse and recycling was also part of the effort, including 800 restored and reused windows, 500 reused doors, over 100 historic period light fixtures retrofitted for CFLs and 54,200 square feet of carpet reclaimed.

The project includes unique features such as a new ground-source geothermal heating and cooling system which does not burn fossil fuel because it uses the earth’s 55-degree underground temperature. A total of 232 bore holes, each 8-in. in diameter and 450 ft.-deep, are connected by 54 miles of 4 ft. -deep underground piping to create the closed-loop system. The system was designed by H.F. Lenz Mechanical Engineering and installed by Monroe Plumbing & Heating and Middleton/Jackson Geothermal Drilling.

A wetlands area was also created to support a gray water plumbing system which circulates water from the showers and sinks to be naturally filtered in the wetlands and pond and returned to flush toilets. The system required the installation of an additional set of pipes in the bathrooms, but reduces fresh water consumption by about 50%.

The IHM Sisters have used their project as an educational tool since its conception. Neighbors and authorities needed to be educated in the early phases, particularly to overcome objections to the wetlands. Displays have been created throughout the Motherhouse to instruct visitors about the sustainable features of the project. A large “Green Room” on the main floor of the facility has been given over to displays as well. Since it opened, thousands of visitors have toured the facility to learn ways of building and living sustainably. The Sisters have hosted two Midwest Green Building Conferences, received numerous awards and been the subject of several articles in a variety of publications.

It is estimated that the project is saving nearly $180,000 in annual energy costs by saving 340,000 therms and reducing green gas emissions by over 4 million pounds of CO2.

Collaboration Award

• The Christman Company
• Susan Maxman & Partners
• Monroe Plumbing and Heating
• GEM Industrial
• HF Lenz Associates
• Mannik & Smith
• Rolf Sauer & Partners — Viridian Landscape Studio
• Michigan Interfaith Power and Light (MIPL)