Fauzia Qureshi MAA '80
Fauzia Qureshi, photo courtesy of Fauzia Qureshi
Professor Fauzia Qureshi is the first female South Asian graduate alumna of the School of Architecture and Planning. After completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, Pakistan, Qureshi received the prestigious Quaid-e-Azam scholarship to study Architecture at MIT. She spent her time at the Institute exploring solutions to urgent problems Pakistan was facing at the time regarding low and middle income housing. She completed a thesis on urban settlements designed specifically for developing countries. Qureshi was also a key force in establishing MIT’s Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture.
Once she graduated in 1980, Qureshi returned to Pakistan to continue the consultancy firm she and her husband had started three years prior and was very active with in several Pakistan-based NGOs. Qureshi retired as Director and Principal Architect at FHQ & Associates in Lahore and Professor and Principal of the National College of Arts in Lahore in 2011. Today, she channels her passion for social activism and education by collaborating with the Women’s Action Forum in Pakistan, an organization which aims to strengthen women’s position in South Asian society.
Fauzia Qureshi’s master’s thesis, Dwelling Environments: Urban Expansion Project, Gujjarpura, Lahore, Pakistan - A Study Dealing with Housing for the Low/Middle Income Sector
Preface and Acknowledgements of Fauzia Qureshi’s thesis.