John Dancer is a Principal and Vice President at Cornerstone Architects.  He is a design leader with over 40 years of experience.  John’s specialty is creating spaces that integrate function, technology, the natural environment, and human interaction – ultimately impacting people’s lives.  His award-winning projects include the Dow Visual Arts Building at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, which won the 2010 AIA Michigan Honor Award, and most recently, the Innovation Center at Northwestern Michigan College, which won the 2021 AIA Michigan Honor Award.

John has been with Cornerstone Architects since 1995.  Prior to that, he worked at major firms in Atlanta and Chicago.  He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Lawrence Technological University and is a registered architect, AIA member, and past president of the AIA Northern Michigan Chapter.  John has also served as visiting professor at Ferris State University for the 4th Year Design Studio class.

John’s focus on sustainability and resilience drives his innovative approach to design.  While sustainability looks at how current generations can meet their needs without compromising the future, resilience considers a building’s ability to endure threats, absorb impacts, and to recover and adapt.  John enjoys the challenge of engaging all of this in the design process.  He finds satisfaction in optimizing space to work for users, while driving down consumption and impact to the surrounding environment and community.  John believes that sustainability and resilience are key elements of the architectural process, protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public both now and well into the future.

John is married with two grown sons and a granddaughter.  He loves spending time with family, both in Michigan and California.  John and his wife Barb are avid sailors and love to be out on Grand Traverse Bay.  In the winter they frequent the Northern Michigan ski slopes and meet up with friends and family to enjoy the natural world.