Alexander Adam was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland in 1883 and was articled to Charles (c.1841-1925) in Paisley from 1899 to 1904. He also attended Glasgow School of Architecture. He was employed as an assistant to Allan Ferguson Duncan (1870-1941) and George Donalson Copland (1874-1938) of A.F. Duncan & G.D. Copland in Glasgow from 1905 to c.1911. Adam qualified as an architect in 1910 and was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects ARIBA) the following year.
There is not much evidence that he actively practised as an architect. From 1911 to 1927 he worked as assistant lecturer in Architecture and Building Construction at Paisley Technical College. In 1927 he was appointed principal of the Architectural Department at Glasgow School of Art, a post he held until c.1935. By 1930 he had returned to A.F. Duncan & G.D. Copland where he was a senior partner until c.1940. He died in Largs, Scotland on 4 January 1961.
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001