Sir Andrew Thomas Taylor was born on October 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

After briefly practising architecture in Scotland and London, Taylor emigrated to Canada in 1883 where, for the next twenty-one years, he practised architecture in Montreal. In partnership with George William Hamilton Gordon (approximately 1854-1906), an English-born architect trained in London, Taylor designed six buildings for McGill University, including the School of Architecture's Macdonald-Harrington Building (1896), Macdonald Physics Building (1893), the Redpath Library (1893), and the Macdonald Engineering Building (1907). He also designed the Montreal Diocesan Theological College (1895–96), now Presbyterian College, which is part of McGill University. Taylor and Gordon also designed numerous commercial buildings in Montreal and throughout Canada, including several branches of the Bank of Montreal and the Merchants' Bank of Canada. He retired from architecture in 1904 and returned to London, where he served on London County Council from 1908 to 1926. He was knighted for his political services in 1926.

He died on December 5, 1937, in London, England.