Capturing An Honor

Capturing an Honor: The Dean-Haidet Residence

First, we want to extend a huge congratulations to our partners at GRA+D Architects for their incredible work on the Dean-Haidet Residence.  It was a privilege for our lead photographer, Marshall Evan, to photograph this project, which was recently recognized with an AIA Columbus 2025 Honor Award—the highest honor from the chapter.

The Dean-Haidet Residence is nestled in the historic Rush Creek Village, a neighborhood defined by its Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Usonian principles.  The architecture is highly conscious of its natural setting, designed to let the landscape flow through the lot while maintaining total privacy.

As a photographer, the challenge wasn't just capturing a building; it was capturing a relationship.  The AIA jury specifically praised the "harmonious relationship between architecture and site," and our goal was to make that relationship visible in every frame.

To truly tell the story of this home, we committed to an all-day shoot from sunrise to sunset.  Architectural photography is as much about timing as it is about composition.

• Morning: The Interior Connection.  We began at dawn on the rear of the home, capturing how the morning light fills the main living areas of the interior.  This allowed us to show how the design pushes and pulls to create those long, eastward views toward the tree-lined meadow.

• Evening: Materiality and Detail.  As the sun began to set, we shifted our focus to the exterior’s meticulous detailing.  The low-angle light was ideal for highlighting the concrete's textures, the precision of the metal siding, and the way the glass reflects the surrounding ravine.

Conveying "Clarity and Rigor"

With only a handful of Honor Awards selected from 67 outstanding submissions, we know the competition was fierce.  It is an incredible feeling to know that our imagery successfully conveyed the "clarity and rigor" of GRA+D’s design to the distinguished jury.

When the architecture is this thoughtful, our job is simply to find the light that lets it speak for itself.