A Fashionable Neighborhood examines the social landscape shaped by the rapid construction of housing in Honolulu following the post–World War II population boom. The project centers on 26 low-rise walk-up apartment buildings—unassuming yet enduring elements of the city’s built environment that emerged during Honolulu’s Modern period, with a focus on the years between 1947 and 1967.

Honolulu is a vibrant city where modernist architecture is both predominant and iconic. Yet the neighborhoods that contain these architectural gems are steadily disappearing. Influenced by the photography of Julius Shulman and Berenice Abbott, and drawn to the clarity, restraint, and optimism of modernist design, I conceived this project as a record of an architectural and social moment at risk of being forgotten.

Photographed in black and white, the work emphasizes deep tonal contrasts and dramatic shadows, creating an atmosphere that reflects the quiet erosion of these neighborhoods. The monochrome palette distills each structure to its geometric essentials, allowing form, proportion, and rhythm to take precedence. Natural light traces the interplay of horizontal and vertical planes, revealing reflections and shadows across reinforced concrete and steel. Structural elements are openly expressed rather than concealed, mirroring the visibility—and vulnerability—of the communities they house.

These photographs were made during the Covid-19 lockdown. Shaped by the psychological and cultural impact of that period, the work extends beyond architectural documentation. It captures the palpable tension of neighborhoods reduced largely to drive-by encounters, offering a glimpse into spaces marked by watchfulness and restraint. Beneath the modernist façades lies a population navigating isolation and uncertainty, contained within structures born of postwar optimism and now bearing the weight of a far more fragile present.