Hua Li (华黎)

TAO (Trace Architecture Office), is one of the most active and influential architectural firms in China’s contemporary architecture field. Hua Li, the company’s founder and lead architect views architecture as an evolving organism, being inseparable from its environment, rather than just a formal object. With most projects positioned in particular cultural and natural settings in China, Hua Li’s practice reflects the essence of place; making architecture deeply rooted in its cultural and environmental context with awareness of site history, geography, and local condition. The sense of place, climate, topography, geology, local resources, and construction method are crucial factors explored in every TAO project. 

TAO’s key works include: Museum of Handcraft Paper, XiaoQuan Elementary School, Wuyishan Bamboo Raft Factory, Forest Building, Split Courtyard House , TiensTiens Café, Lens Office Beijing and Xinzhai Coffee Manor.  

Hua Li and TAO has won several important architectural awards including Design Vanguard 2012 and GDGB China Awards by Architectural Record Magazine, Young Architect Award of 2012 China Architecture Media Awards, ARCASIA Awards for Architecture and WA Awards, shortlisted in Aga Kahn Award 2013, nominated in BSI Swiss Architectural Award 2016 & 2018. TAO’s works have been exhibited in Venice, Vienna, Berlin and New York, and have been widely published internationally. 

• Modern Architecture In The Countryside: In Discussion With Hua Li 华黎 [In Mandarin]

• Website: www.t-a-o.cn