Fugitive Infrastructures

Kaylem Alavi

Summary
Final work

I am a spatial practitioner and architectural designer currently studying architecture at an arts university in London. My work explores the intersection of queer identity, spatial justice, and temporary occupation (often reclaiming overlooked or abandoned urban sites through participatory installations and immersive events). Alongside my academic work, I also have three years of professional experience at Adventure in Architecture, from urban interventions to paddling through the Amazon rainforest with clients. I also work freelance, where I continue to develop a practice grounded in collaboration, storytelling, and speculative spatial futures. Across all my work, I aim to challenge normative frameworks and imagine new ways of being together

I am a spatial practitioner and architectural designer currently studying architecture at a...

CollegeCentral Saint Martins
CourseM ARCH: Architecture
Graduation year2025

This project reclaims abandoned and overlooked spaces across the city as temporary homes for queer nightlife. Rooted in the concept of spatial justice, it challenges who has the right to occupy space and how. Using the lens of creatures, (beings that exist beyond binaries) the events create environments that feel safe, alive, and free. Through sound, movement, and atmosphere, these raves offer an alternative to commercial nightlife: intimate and resistant. It’s about making space where there is none and imagining new ways of being together - untamed, collective, and outside the limits of what’s expected.

Final work

Rat Rave

This video captures a one-night rave in an abandoned pavilion on Hampstead Heath, transformed into a temporary site for queer celebration and resistance. Among the dancers, ravers wearing oversized rat heads move through the space, embodying the idea that creatures are beings that exist beyond binaries. Lights and lasers cut through the dark, while heavy bass and layered sound fill the shell of the structure. The event reclaims a forgotten public space, creating a moment that feels both surreal and deeply communal. It’s a glimpse into a fugitive nightlife that is intimate, defiant, and free.

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Research and process

Intervention at Riposte

This video documents CONFESSION, a participatory installation presented at Riposte’s witchcraft-themed event in January. The piece invited attendees to reflect on the state of queer nightlife in London by writing their personal experiences onto wristbands, which were then added to a hanging tapestry. As the night unfolded, the installation grew into a living archive of collective memory that mapped out the events, spaces, and emotions that shape queer nightlife. CONFESSION created a quiet moment of reflection within the chaos, sparking conversation, connection, and shared understanding.