THE "BARBARA PICUTTI CREATIVE CONTEST" – A PROJECT NAMED AFTER A COLLEAGUE WHO SADLY PASSED AWAY TOO SOON – IS NOW IN ITS THIRD YEAR. THE CONTEST TRANSFORMS MEMORIES AND OBJECTS INTO SHORT STORIES. CHAIRMAN FABRIZIO DI AMATO NOTED THAT « THANKS TO 'HUMANIST ENGINEERS,' WE CAN GIVE VOICE TO THE MOST HUMAN SIDE OF THE COMPANY. "
At MAIRE, even engineers write stories. It's one of those phrases that, when you read it for the first time, almost sounds like an oxymoron. When you think of a large industrial Group, numbers, projects, systems, and calculations come to mind. People talk about precision, method, and efficiency: certainly not about pages written to imagine and tell stories.
And yet that is precisely where, within this balance between rigor and vision, that something unexpected happens. Objects forgotten in a warehouse, project models, archival photographs, or documents stored in the digital vault cease to be mere relics of the past and become catalysts for storytelling. Because even in the most technical places, stories are hidden that, in many cases, are just waiting to be written.
This insight gave rise to the "Barbara Picutti Creative Contest", a creative initiative launched by the Fondazione MAIRE – ETS dedicated exclusively to colleagues within the MAIRE group, which, year after year, transforms the company's historical heritage into a laboratory of shared imagination. A project named after Barbara Picutti, a colleague who passed away prematurely in 2023, who loved to describe herself as an "engineer and humanist": two words that, when paired, convey a way of combining technical expertise with sensitivity, precision with imagination.
The vault that sparks connections
The process is simple. Each year, a theme is chosen and a challenge is issued: colleagues are invited to explore the digital vault – the historical archive that holds more than a century of projects, images, and documents – and to let themselves be inspired. Not to describe what they find, but to transform it. To view it through a personal lens and turn it into a story. It can all start with a detail: a work tool, a photograph, a model, a project fragment. From there, a story takes shape – real or imagined, technical or personal – that moves across eras, places, and experiences. The only real requirement is to dare.
And then there are the people. The participants are colleagues from very different roles, countries, and backgrounds. Engineers, project managers, technicians, specialists. Professionals accustomed to measuring, calculating, and solving problems – not professional writers. Precisely for this reason, the stories surprise because they do not seek formal perfection, but instead convey authenticity, blending technical expertise with personal experiences. In many cases, they manage to transport the reader to unexpected places: a distant construction site, a childhood memory, a reflection on work, a glimpse of the future.
It is as if, for a moment, the language of work gives way to the language of stories: a more human and intimate dimension that normally remains hidden. « A different way of sharing experience and knowledge – explained Senior Vice President Franco Ghiringhelli – no longer just through data and results, but through narratives that speak of people and emotions. They also highlight the cultural heritage and diversity that go beyond and complement technical expertise and the strong focus on the environmental and economic sustainability of projects located in distant lands. »
The three editions of the contest
United by a common thread – using reality as a starting point to take us somewhere else – the first two editions clearly illustrate the project's trajectory. In 2024, with "Tool Tales," the starting point was objects: antiquated work tools, models, and physical fragments of the Group's industrial history. From there, 29 stories emerged, blending memory and imagination, capable of transforming technical elements into narrative. The winner was Antonio De Simone, with "Lot 11" ("Lotto 11"), an intense and visual, almost cinematic story in which work, landscape, and the personal dimension intertwine to become a single experience.
In 2025, with "Route Tales," the scope expanded. The theme of travel – physical, professional, and inner – opened up new storytelling possibilities, leading participants to explore the digital vault's heritage as a map to follow. The stories grew to 37, even richer and more multifaceted. The winner, Edoardo Disarò, with "Nitrogen" ("L'azoto"), took it to the next level, transforming a chemical element into a narrative voice to create an original story that makes science surprisingly light and poetic.
Over the course of two years, the "Barbara Picutti Creative Contest" has grown in a natural but significant way. This is also confirmed by those who follow the project closely, such as Francesca Rinaldo, Heritage Manager of the Fondazione MAIRE – ETS, who has seen a surprising and, above all, deeply authentic narrative quality emerge over these two years: "The stories differ from one another in style and content, but they share the same energy: that of people who, for once, choose to express themselves freely, personally, unfiltered by their professional roles. We can say that behind every professional, there is often much more than meets the eye."
In 2026, the contest takes another step forward. With "Ties Tales," the focus shifts to what holds people together: the ties that bind them. Not just the obvious ones – teams, projects, collaborations – but also the more subtle and invisible ones, which are built over time through trust, shared challenges, passing the baton, and change. Human, professional, even symbolic bonds. Sometimes even "chemical" ones, when an intuition or a technology manages to create new and lasting connections. Once again, the starting point is the digital vault. But this time, the gaze delves deeper: it seeks not just stories, but relationships. Traces of what has united people and continues, in different ways, to generate value.
« Passion, dedication, and a love for work and for beauty shine through in every story – said Chairman Fabrizio Di Amato – All these stories bear witness to the cultural and human richness that drives our Group: a legacy built on cross-disciplinary knowledge, ranging from technology to ethics, from history to sustainability, and from economics to art. The true value of MAIRE lies here: in its people. In these "humanist engineers" who know how to balance technological innovation with respect for the environment, and economic logic with the pursuit of higher ideals. »
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