Alfred Thomas Swenson graduated from The Todd School for Boys in Woodstock, Illinois in 1953. He earned his Bachelors Degree in Architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1960 and also earned his Masters Degree from IIT in 1968. While at IIT, he met his future wife, Pao-Chi Chang, who fled China with her parents and siblings with the coming of the Chinese Cultural Revolution right after World War II. She was a student of noted Chicago Architect Ludwig Meis van der Rohe. They were married in 1962, and both pursued successful architectural careers. Alfred became an Associate Professor of Architecture at IIT. His wife died in 2006. Alfred remained a resident of the Hyde Park neighborhood for much of his professional life right through his death.