Fiction, Friction & Frustration
Planning it with Mr Mapper
Mr Mapper was late.
Again.
Not because he moved slowly—far from it—but because there was simply so much to consider, and so little time to hold it all.
Inside, his young, uncharted Terrains were already waiting for him. Their voices filled the room in a cheerful, buzzing cloud of chatter: about building blocks, about materials, about mathematics—an orchestra of grand plans and even grander ambitions.
All of them looked to Mr Mapper as their guide, the one who would show them how to plan their future grandes travailles. And why shouldn’t they? Their enthusiasm was delightful.
But…
There was something they did not know.
Mr Mapper himself was having… well, something of a crisis.
Recently he had started dabbling in philosophy. And that had cracked his mind open like shifting bedrock—new perspectives, new possibilities, new doubts. It was as if he couldn’t quite follow his own thought-trail anymore.
He tried, of course, to prepare a model plan for them. They expected that from him. But each time he shaped it, something resisted. The Plan seemed to whisper, “Not like that, Mr Mapper. You’re missing something.”
And then it struck him.
A plan is not just a plan.
A plan can have a life of its own.
That insight made everything far more complicated. How was he meant to explain that to these young Terrains? And what would happen when they discovered that not only The Plan but Conditions, Space, Mathematics—every one of them—might come alive as well? What of the legions of Steel, Wood, Stone, all waiting their turn?
Mr Mapper sighed.
All these words and concepts springing to life—it was overwhelming… and yet strangely exciting.
It made him curious.
Playful.
Experimental.
Perhaps, he thought, he should stop working based on concepts…
and start working with them.
In december 2025 we were invited to give a lecture for the course "Inhabiting future frictions. Confronting Climate Collapse", within the MA in Architecture for Sustainability at the Politecnico Turino. This story was for them....
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The Plan Was Due Today
The day had come.
The day of The Plan.
Everyone knew it—The Plan had made quite certain of that.
Mr Mapper and The Plan had always had a… let’s say fraught relationship. From the very first moment they met, years ago, they had never quite agreed.
The Plan was always clear, strict, decisive.
Mr Mapper, meanwhile, wandered—into new ideas, new sights, new insights.
The Plan adored order.
Mr Mapper adored discovery.
The Terrains he was working with now were still young, still pliable. Eager for structure, for direction. They believed they needed The Plan—a single map for their future.
But Mr Mapper knew better.
Clarity is not the same thing as growth.
And growth needs room.
So, in a sudden burst of rebellion, he made a decision.
He left The Plan inside… and took the Terrains out on a walk. No instructions. No structure. No permission.
The Terrains were overjoyed.
They breathed in the crisp air, felt the earth beneath their feet, watched the river threading its way through the valley. They saw the mountains rising, with small villages clinging to their sides.
Mr Mapper knelt, placed a hand on the ground, and began opening the Soil for them.
Layer by layer.
Politics.
Materials.
Needs.
Hierarchies.
Uses.
Paths.
With each layer, a new world emerged. And as soon as they thought they had reached the bottom, yet more appeared—new concepts, new habits, new interests, new dynamics.
The Terrains were astonished.
So much movement.
So many forces, all alive at the same time.
‘But Mr Mapper,’ they asked, wide-eyed,
‘how can we ever make a plan that fits all of this?’
He smiled.
He didn’t have the answer—of course he didn’t.