Abdul Qayyum Khan was born in Kohat, Pakistan. He was a member of the inaugural cohort studying for a bachelors degree in architecture at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in Lahore Pakistan (1962-67), and was subsequently awarded the year's Gold Medal for academic excellence. Shortly after graduating, he is recorded as having enrolled on the 1969-70 postgraduate  'Housing Course' run by the Architectural Association's Department of Development and Tropical Studies, in London. He appears to have briefly been engaged on the teaching staff of the Development Planning Unit, University College London, when the AA's Department of Development and Tropical Studies transferred there in 1971. However, by 1974, he had returned to Pakistan and founded the Architect’s Bureau where he continues to work today. With over 50 years of experience, his practice revolves around building energy-efficient and durable buildings inspired by vernacular building methods. His practice website notes, for instance, how a building’s proportions take into account the brick module to minimize material waste. Although his practice has completed works ranging from private residences, low-cost housing schemes and multi-story commercial buildings, a project that best showcases his approach – of using brickwork and celebrating intricate craftsmanship – is perhaps the New Academic Block in Peshawar University (inaugurated 2016), a grand, stepped building of exposed brick, punctuated by arcades, tens of arches, and several domes. Beyond his practice, Khan serves as the Principal of the School of Design, Art, and Architecture at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Sources

• Architectural Association Student Register 1945‐1972, AA Archives
• Architectural Association Diploma Roll Book, 1964-75, AA Archives  
• Architects Bureau about page, https://architectsbureau.net/about/, accessed 24 May 2025
• Biographical Encyclopedia of Pakistan, Millennium 2000, page 84, published by Research Institute of Historiography, Biography, and Philosophy (2001)
• Ar. Abdul Qayyum Khan, https://sada.nust.edu.pk/faculty/ar.-abdul-qayyum-khan/, accessed 30 August 2025