Submitted by: Mike Dilts, President and COO

Shiel Sexton has partnered with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for over 30 years. Recently we had an opportunity to partner with BSA Life Structures to convert the Simon Brute' Cloister Monastery into housing for Marian University Seminarians. The project allowed Shiel Sexton a chance to work on a structure with religious significance and unique to the history of the Catholic Church. It truly was a pleasure and a project that only comes along once in a career. Part of the reason it is so special is that the community who lived in the building, which resembles a medieval castle, was so unique. The community was a cloister community. A member of a cloister lives out their life in a community separated from the rest of the natural world. While working on the project you were able to get a feeling for what it was like to live in a cloister community.

The challenge for the designers and builders of the monastery was to create a space that enabled the public to interact with the sisters without violating the cloistered community. This was done with redundant halls and mechanical space that was accessible from the outside without having to enter the cloister. The front office operated with a turn style cabinet that allowed the sisters to receive of goods without any contact physically and visually with the outside world. It was really a building within a building. It was fascinating to observe how the original architects designed this while respecting the values that make this space sacred.

When you stand in the courtyard you can't help but think about how the sisters inside the cloister were really in a small community with-in a larger community. It's easy to wonder what could make a person want to do this, to leave the great big world and limit themselves to such as small physical space. Then you begin to understand that the sisters were committed to the spiritual world not just the physical world. They lived in a small space, so that they could experience a greater spiritual existence. This facility was designed to allow its inhabitants to live a life of contemplation and service. The whole existence of the cloister, which was recently moved to another facility, was to pray for the vocations of the church and provide the church with sacraments through their labor. The residents selflessly served as both a physical and spiritual support and foundation for the Archdiocese.

You also cannot help but be impressed by the self-sustaining and self-sufficient nature of the cloister. As a cloister they had to have an understanding of plumbing, electrical, masonry, building, and general maintenance. The sisters of the cloister maintained the structure with very little help from the outside. If something needed to be fixed, they fixed it; if something needed to be built, they built it. When we got into the project, we found that every system had been labeled and recorded. You can go down to the crawl space and see labels hanging from wires and pipes to mark what they are and what they did.

The challenge for the design and construction team was to convert the space into a new use while respecting its historical significance. The building has always had a purpose of supporting the church, and its new mission as housing for seminarians will enable the building to continue that mission. We are proud to have been a part of that.

Labels: Archdiocese of Indianapolis, BSA Life Structures, Marian University, Mike Dilts, Simon Brute Seminary