Our favourite Devoto project? Check everyone’s out!

There is a project that is the best of them all, but it’s not actually a hotel, private residence, a restaurant, museum or Elisabethiam theatre.. 

 

This year we want to celebrate love by asking Devoto people what their sweetheart projects are, the project they have loved the most since their arrival at Devoto.

At first we wanted to rank them and find the most voted project, but the answers we had got were so varied and the reasons behind the choices were so original and precious, that we decided to post more than one!

We made this decision because we want to enhance the reasons why some projects got to the heart and soul of the people that worked on them.

Where possible you will find the link to the related dedicated page so you can read more about the project if you want.

The following, then, is not a ranking but just a list of some of our sweetheart projects and the reasons behind them.

 

Ready to find out some Devoto sweetheart projects? 

The best Devoto project? Impossible to say…

GLOBE THEATRE (2003)

I was in purchasing at the time and for our company this project meant finding out materials that were new and innovative for the Devoto of that time. To mention some of them, the duraluminium ironmongery, the purchase of chestnut trunks and the direct contact with a sawmill, the inspection of the trees in the woods before the purchase.. a totally new adventure and experience that make this my sweetheart project! (Marina, Export Sales Manager)

 

MUSÉE DU QUAI BRANLY SEATING (2013)

I had just started working for Devoto and this project struck me for the insight and the technical solutions that made it possible to get such a stunning result.. that was the moment I realised I was part of a great company that could do great things!  (Valeria, Marketing & Communication)

 

ROME LUXURY SHORT RENTAL APARTMENTS (2022)

My sweetheart project is the Rome Luxury Short Rental Apartments, it was my initiation as a project manager and I put my heart, soul, and body in it! (Benedetta, Project Manager)

 

PRIVATE RESIDENCE IN CAMPO MARZIO, ROME (2022)

It was a pretty much complex project that put me through the wringer but at the same time taught me a lot.  (Nicola, Project Manager)

 

 NUVOLA (2015)

No doubt it is the Cloud convention centre (Nuvola), my first project in the crazy Devoto world. A huge and complex project… but despite that, I decided not to leg it!” (Federica, Project Manager)

 

PALAZZO RHINOCEROS (2017)

Best Architect, best Client and not only wood!!! (Fabio, Design Manager)

 

PONTIFICAL LATERAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY (2006)

I was young and I have good memories of this project that I like a lot for the way it was conceived… (Ivan, CNC Operator)

 

HOTEL IN VIA DELLE BOTTEGHE OSCURE, ROME (2023)

My sweetheart project is the Hotel in via delle Botteghe Oscure because since the day it was assigned to me, I have seen it grow and change, like a little child you bring up: you never really know what’s up next, but still, you do your best and just do it (Zinka, Buyer)

 

HOTEL ES (2003)

The project l carry in my heart is the first project I took care of when I started working in Devoto: the ES hotel in Rome (Antonello, Finisher)

ANTEPRIMA STORE

The project I remember most fondly is the first Anteprima boutique we delivered in Rome. I was in charge of painting the curving iron wall that stretched through the whole boutique. It had to look like a ribbon that gradually and consistently blended from black to white, a technique I was using for the first time. A challenge I won, a great result! (Gianluca, Head finisher)

 

VILLA P. 

Well I’ve always liked the Villa P project in Rome… especially the walk-in-closet: something to die for! (Cristina, Accountant)

Yes, Villa P for me too… that walk-in-closet is every woman’s dream! (Annabella, Secretary)

 

MENTIROSA CHAIR (2013)

The perfect mix: experimentation, technology, design… and cocktails!!! (Marianna, CCO)

 

what about the international projects?

 

IS-SUQ TAL BELT A MALTA (2017)

I have worked as a joiner in Devoto for 23 years but this year for medical reasons I had to change job and now I am the warehouse keeper… talking about projects, right? You never know the projects that life has got for you.. anyway, my sweetheart project is Is-Suq Tal Belt. It was a great experience I had the chance to share with my colleagues that I consider now real friends, especially Pietro, our dear friend and colleague that is not with us anymore..”  (Marco, Warehouse keeper)

GAZPROM HEADQUARTERS IN SAINT PETERSBURG (2013)

The project that brings back good memories is the Gazprom headquarters in St Petersburg. Great project, lovely city.. an unforgettable experience! (Andrea, Joiner)

 

CENCI NEW YORK (2014)

I have more than one sweetheart project to be honest, but the first Cenci NY is a bit sweeter that the others, maybe because I took care of all its phases, included the on-site survey. Not to mention the great time I had in Manhattan with my colleagues Arcangelo and Cataldo.. (Luca, Sales Manager)

 

LA W DU CHRISTOMET (2013)

The Megeve restaurant in France… a totally different site experience: we installed an outdoor structure made of wood working knee-deep in snow!” (Massimiliano, Foreman)

 

Many of us share the same sweetheart project..

 

PALAZZO RHINOCEROS (2017)

My sweetheart project is Palazzo Rhinoceros… it was a big experimental project, a laboratory where everyone of us was working for the same purpose – it is the kind of experimental approach that I love about Devoto! (Roberta, Logistics Manager)

 

PRIVATE RESIDENCE IN CAMPO MARZIO, ROME (2022)

My sweetheart project is no doubt the residential project we delivered in Rome Campo Marzio. It was my first Devoto project, I had been there for just one month. I took part in all its steps, from the beginning to the delivery of the key! I am really proud of what we’ve done and of the huge amount of patience I realized I have! (Fabio, Joiner)

GLOBE THEATRE (2003)

Among all the things we have done I certainly retain a lovely memory of the Globe, despite everything. The carpentry woodworks themselves and the possibility to build something more important and more long-lasting than furniture is what I like about it.  

If we think of the word “carpentry”, the Globe perfectly explains and represents its meaning.

Furnishing stores or hotels and residences means building something that won’t last for good. How many shops I furnished have now changed, closed, built again.. how many hotels have been refurbished despite the effort it took to furnish them the first time.. how many houses change owner and get renewed by the new one…

In my mind the Globe was built to last at least one hundred years. I am embarrassed by the sloppiness and the lack of care in its maintenance. 

To build something for art, culture, theatre, a place for people to gather is far more exciting than furnishing a shop, for instance, however exciting that is too.

What’s more, I remember that all the company had the chance to work for the Globe. Some days there were more than 40 people on site. There is a picture that shows us all there!” (Claudio, President)

 

For some of us the best project is… two!

Well, yes, I have two: Palazzo Rhinoceros because it was the first big project for me as a production manager, and then the National Museum of Qatar, a project that looked impossible to everyone but us: thousands of different pieces that were insignificant individually but together gave birth to a work of art (Emanuele, Production Manager)

 

And for one of us, the best Devoto project is nothing but..

…Devoto itself! Always trying to improve, to come together as a team with all our workers, to enrich our skills and know-how, to be competitive, to explore new markets and keep pursuing research and improvement.. deep down this is my only sweetheart project! (Cecilia, CEO)

 

Thanks to all the colleagues that found the time to share with us their memories, suggestions and feelings. Every work we deliver with passion and care brings along a story, and every story is unique and unforgettable.