Hao Li
Diploma of Architecture, Staatliche Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste, Städelschule, Germany
Bachelor of Architecture, Shenzhen University
Hao is a talented architect and a thoughtful academic lecturer in architecture and master planning. Throughout his 17 years of professional practice in China and HK markets, he has established an impressive portfolio of a number of major projects, focusing on fields of large-scale mixed-use, retail, and high/super high-rise tower projects across China and Southeast Asia. Hao has pushed forward the utilization of new technologies in architecture, emphasizing innovation and practicality throughout his career. With architecture degrees obtained in Germany and China, Hao remains engaged in academia and acts as a guest lecturer in multiple institutes in both China and Hong Kong.
Hao began his journey as a Senior Associate Director in 2017. During this time he had helped his firm improve its market reputation in retail design, and also helped the company explore new typologies including heritage and tall tower design. He has played key client-facing roles throughout his career, in addition to management and promoting design. His designs are often nominated as the best in the firm's practice, and are consistently the recipients of professional awards.
"As an architect, I consider myself an interpreter of life. It is my job to translate my observations and perceptions of life into spatial design, creating spaces that people enjoy, that excite them, that they live in. Communities, identities, memories - all of these evolve from a designer's creation."
Hao has always had a passion for art and design. As a child, he loved to paint and had hopes of becoming an artist and sculptor. Ultimately, his innate creative talent eventually lead him to choose architecture as his profession. The realization that architecture not only embodied all of his artistic passions but also plays a monumental part in creating impactful change for people and communities around the world has been an incredible driving force for Hao. His motivation is to bring beauty and function into people's everyday lives.
Hao's extensive experience teaching at universities and sharing his unique perspective with design students has positively influenced him both personally and professionally. For Hao, it is very different from a professional practice, in that it has allowed him talk to his students about the meaning of design, going back to the root of architecture, and discussing essential questions. This outlet has created space for self-reflection and understanding, which in turn, has shaped him into the professional he is today.
In his free time Hao loves to travel. He enjoys the solitude of the open road as it allows him to relax, creating space for new, fresh ideas to come rushing in. Many of his design ideas come from these moments. The freedom of travel also provides him with the opportunity to see unfamiliar places and spaces. Experiencing new, unique places is endlessly inspiring and an incredible source of joy for Hao.