Tao Lei，the founder and chief architect of TAOA, graduated from Fine Arts School Affiliated to China Central Academy of Fine Arts(CAFA) in 1997, and received his Bachelor Degree from the School of Architecture of CAFA in 2002. Engaged in architectural practice since 1997, he has been adhering to the design principle that design concepts should be consistent with social practical issues, paying attention to the uniqueness of architectural ontology and the exploration of architectural local culture, as well as the embodiment of the humanistic value of architecture and the relationship between architecture and nature in cities, focusing on the contemporary nature of architectural reality. Tao Lei gains widely attention by both Chinese and international media since 2010, whose works were widely published in a large numbers of magazines and won a series of professional awards. For his academic reputation, he was invited to participate in lots of seminars, lectures and exhibitions. In 2012, he edited the book In & Out - Contemporary Architecture in China 70 Series published by Phoenix Media Group. In the same year, he was nominated for the Young Architect Award of China Architecture Media Award.