The Cornerstone Building was the first office building designed and constructed by Weston Miles Architects for our offices. The 5,600 square foot building was constructed in 1994 of steel studs and a Dryvit exterior and was designed for retail downstairs and office or potential residential upstairs. Located on Monterey Highway and the Dryvit provided additional insulation from traffic noise. Housing a hair salon, a bagel shop and initially WMA’s offices upstairs; the program required great care in mechanical system design and separations of the spaces due to potentially competing fumes and aromas.

The project was completed in 9 months with the steel stud and metal frame construction allowing for continual work in the winter saving time and ultimately cost. As the owner, architect and contractor, this project gave us the opportunity to fully understand the budget and schedule and how small issues can have significant impacts.

Sustainability was incorporated by the inclusion of operable windows and high efficiency lighting and mechanical systems and although the project was constructed 13 years ago the maintenance has been minimal due to straight forward selection of materials.

The Cornerstone has set the standard for proposed new development on 3rd street and is often shown in Morgan Hill City brochures as the face on downtown.