Marialessandra Secchi, architect and urban planner, completed her  PhD dissertation at  Politecnico di Milano. In 1998 she founded Privileggio Secchi architettura e urbanistica (PSAU) toghether with Nicolò Privileggio. A defining trait of her work is the merging of her expertise in architecture, city planning, and landscape design; it stands out for its constant intertwining of profession, teaching, and university research.  Marialssandra holds the position of Assistant Professor in Urbanism at Politecnico di Milano, where she has been coordinating the Urban Planning and Design studio since 2005.
She has participated in a multitude of research-by-design projects, either as science manager or team member, in partnership with international public and private institutions. 
She currently serves as a member of the teaching board of the Doctoral Program in Urban Planning Deign and Policy in Politecnico di Milano. Her investigations and projects have been published in several scientific magazines such as: Oase, Territorio, Planum The Journal of Urbanism, C3 and Urbanistica. Among her recent publications are: Territori in divenire. Progetti e scenari per la laguna di Karavasta (Letteraventidue:Siracusa, 2020)