Participants
Three people work on building a trellis-like archway with slats of wood lashed together. A valley carpeted with plants and trees funnels away from us to meet a sheer cliff face and waterfall in the distance.
A contemporary hale takes shape in Hāmākua, Hawai‘i. Designed and built by a hālau (school) of architects, cultural bearers, and traditional hale builders organized by After Oceanic Built Environments Lab and Leong Leong (Sean Connelly and Dominic Leong) in collaboration with Jojo Henderson and Nalani Tukuafu, hosted by HŌ‘Ā (Lanakila Mangauil and Honi Pahi‘ō). Stills by film collective kekahi wahi (Sancia Miala Shiba Nash and Drew Kahu‘āina Broderick), 2024.

After Oceanic Built Environments Labs and Leong Leong

Established 2010, Honolulu, Hawai‘i; Established 2009, New York, New York

SEAN CONNELLY (Ilocano) is an artist from Honolulu. His practice encompass- es architecture, sculpture, installation, film, design, and cartography, frequent- ly integrating experimental methodologies. Founder of After Oceanic Built Environments Lab, Connelly’s work emphasizes biocultural, ecological, and spatial knowledge to innovate and improve future well-being using art and design.

DOMINIC LEONG (Kānaka Maoli) is a founding partner at Leong Leong, an internationally recognized architecture practice in New York. The studio works at the intersections of art and living to advance social agendas. He has held invited academic appointments at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cooper Union; and Yale University.

Gallery

Building Home
The initiatives in “Building Home” present alternative models that demonstrate how architects today are working collaboratively.
Third Floor

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After Oceanic Built Environments Lab and Leong Leong
Making Home
2 East 91st Street
New York, NY 10128
212.849.8400