Case Study
Graycliff Conservancy:
Felt as Much as Seen
Client: Graycliff Conservancy
Project Type: Orientation Space Concept and Introductory Video Script
Location: Derby, New York
Anna Kaplan, Former: Executive Director, Graycliff Conservancy
Current: Deputy Director, Strategic Initiatives & Development, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
"Working with Jeff was a genuine pleasure from start to finish. Jeff has a rare ability to take complex architectural ideas, the kind that can feel intimidating or abstract, and translate them into language that feels accessible, warm, and relevant. For Frank Lloyd Wright's Graycliff, he created the script for our new introductory video, which is an essential part of our public tour program. Visitors are connecting with our historic site in ways we'd always hoped for, and Jeff's work is a big part of that."
A Proper Introduction
Graycliff is a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed summer home unlike any other, perched above Lake Erie and shaped by the specific needs of its original client, Isabelle Reidpath Martin. When the Conservancy opened a new visitor center in 2026, it needed an orientation experience that would prepare visitors to feel and understand the full weight of what they were about to see.
Photo credits: Jessica Dolly for LeChase Construction
The Work
My scope included a concept plan for the orientation space and a full script for the introductory video.
The orientation space concept organized content across digital and physical displays, covering the key figures in Graycliff's story, Wright's philosophy of Organic Architecture, the Martin family's relationship with Wright, and engaging activities for young visitors.
The video script, titled Isabelle's Graycliff: A Room to Breathe, A Place of Light, runs just under ten minutes and serves two purposes: it delivers the historical and contextual material visitors need before stepping inside, freeing the tour itself for the experience of the architecture, the light, the scents, the colors, and everything else that makes the house come alive. It also primes visitors to be present, and to leave inspired to live a life more deeply connected to beauty, nature, and the people around them. Isabelle is at the center of it. Her vision impairment and how Wright responded to it, her partnership with landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman on the gardens, and her role as a client who found ways to make her voice heard, all of it gives the script a human thread that keeps the architectural ideas from floating away.
The script was brought to life by Forever Ready (video production) and the warm, soothing voice of Megan Callahan.
The Video
The complete video is shown exclusively to visitors before their tour, so you’ll have to visit to see the whole thing. That’s just a small reason many reasons to make visiting Graycliff, and the family's other nearby Wright-designed home, the Darwin D. Martin House, a priority. Here's an exclusive short clip from the opening sequence.
My Values in Action:
Good work always leans into an organization’s mission, and my approach is no exception. I believe that mission, vision, and values should guide every decision, creating lasting impact.
Here’s how I applied my own guiding principles to ensure the orientation experience for Graycliff reflects its deeper purpose:
Mission-Driven: Every creative choice served Graycliff's mission to preserve and share Wright's legacy, not just as history, but as something visitors carry with them.
Impact-Focused: The script connects Wright's ideas to how people live, helping visitors understand what a century-old house can still teach them about a better way to live.
Empathy and Inclusivity: Isabelle Martin's story deserved to be told directly and fully, including her vision loss and her determination to shape a home that was genuinely designed around her life.
Connection and Understanding: The video bridges complex architectural ideas and general audiences, so that first-time visitors and Wright devotees alike enter the home ready to be inspired.
Now, what are you waiting for? Book that trip to Buffalo now!