Here Where It All Began. Politecnico di Milano in the Spirit of Experimentation.

This chapter traces the formative years of Alberto Seassaro within the experimental cultural environment of the Politecnico di Milano, highlighting the conditions that shaped his intellectual and professional trajectory. Beginning with his unconventional graduation experience in 1964, it presents an early manifestation of his critical and experimental approach to design. Seassaro’s education emerges as a synthesis of artistic sensitivity, technical knowledge, and social awareness, influenced both by his academic context and by formative personal experiences. His early work reveals a consistent engagement with the relationship between form, technology, and ways of living, as well as a strong attention to the social and cultural dimensions of design. The chapter also situates his development within broader institutional transformations marked by political activism and pedagogical experimentation, which laid the groundwork for his later role in redefining design education.