Inventionland

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Inventionland
Map
Built2006
LocationPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
IndustryDesign Facility, Tourist Attraction
Employees250
Address585 Alpha Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15238

Inventionland is a Pittsburgh-based immersive work environment and idea incubator where creative projects are brought to life.

Inventionland was conceived by George Davison. Nathan Field served as the executive creative coach, and Joey Warren acted as senior concept designer.[1] According to George Davison, his intention in building Inventionland was to provide a creative work environment in which artists, graphic designers, industrial designers and others could design, develop and create prototypes.[2]

Conception and Themed Sets

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Inventionland officially opened in 2006, having taken 18 months from design to construction.[3] The interior renovation took one year and cost $5 million.[4]

Within Inventionland's 61,000 square-foot design facility are 16 themed sets, named and designed to reflect the new-product invention activity within. Some of the sets include:

  1. Motor Speeday: industrial and automotive products[3]
  2. Discover Pirate Ship: toy department[5]
  3. Crafty Cottage: sewing[5]
  4. Animation Attic: [5]
  5. Creativity Cabin[5]
  6. Nursery Noook: Baby products[5]
  7. Pet Shack: Animal products[5]
  8. Inventalot Castle[3]
  9. Creation Cavern: hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking[3]
  10. Brainpower Ballpark: sports[3]
  11. Treehouse[5]
  12. Inventron 54 Robot: consumer electronics[3]
  13. Home Sweet Home: household products[6]
  14. Home Health Innovations
  15. Concept Kitchen (giant cupcake): kitchen[7]
  16. Animation Studio with one of the largest green screens in the tri-state area[7]

Inventionland also has three running waterfalls, lifelike trees and butterflies and grass-lined sidewalks. Its manufacturing capabilities include metalworking, woodworking, molding, laser cutting, prototyping, circuit board construction and more, which all take place in its production facility.[7]

Honors and awards

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The January/February 2008 issue of I.D. Magazine recognized Inventionland as one of "40 Amazing-Looking Design Offices".[8] Inventionland was also featured in the 2008 Ripley's Believe It or Not Annual, "The Remarkable Revealed".[9]

In 2011, Inventionland was the recipient of a Creative Rooms in Business Award,[10] a regional Pittsburgh award given annually and sponsored by Pittsburgh Design, Art and Technology (DATA). In 2018, an article on Career Addict listed Inventionland as one of the top nine coolest offices in the world.

Inventionland TV Special

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On December 24, 2011, the History Channel aired Inventionland, a reality television special shot on location at Inventionland and starring George Davison.[11] According to a company press release, Inventionland was produced for History by JWM Productions,[12] and Jonathan Wyche served as the producer. Patrice Shannon edited the show, and the online editor was Brian Newell.[13]

The Inventionland TV debut featured three inventors, Milton Branch, Curt Whiteside and Jason Ramsey, who each developed a prototype for a new consumer product. The one-hour reality show explored whether the inventors' product designs would function in a usable manner and/or be suitable for licensing and merchandising. In the show, George Davison and five of his employees tested various designs of each of the three inventions in a variety of settings, including a NASCAR auto shop. Five Inventionland designers and builders were featured in the show (Jason Rogge, Jarrod Campbell, Clay Carlino, Lucky Swartz, and Curtis Wierman).


References

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  1. ^ nikki (2008-11-26). "Inventionland featured at Pittsburgh Innovates Awards". Davison. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  2. ^ “Dave & Dave Explore Inventionland,” On Q, WQED-TV Archived 2012-04-05 at the Wayback Machine July 17, 2007
  3. ^ a b c d e f Donna Domin (October 7, 2007). "Workplace wonderment". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on November 20, 2009.
  4. ^ Emily Maltby (December 30, 2011). "Workplace Wonderland at Davison International Inc". Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Usher, Holly (October 10, 2007). "Inventionland allows employees to be kids again". The Advance Leader.
  6. ^ Curry, Jennifer (March 4, 2007). "Forget cubicles or workstations--O'Hara office includes a pirate ship". Pittsburgh Business Times.
  7. ^ a b c "Company Tour Locations". www.pghtech.org. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  8. ^ http://digital.id-mag.com/idmagazine/id20080102/?pg=14 [dead link]
  9. ^ Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Remarkable Revealed. Ripley Publishing; First edition. 2007. ISBN 978-1893951228.
  10. ^ "CRIB Creative Rooms in Business Award". Archived from the original on 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  11. ^ "'Inventionland', Its Reality TV" Archived January 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ JWM Productions web site
  13. ^ Davison. ""Inventionland" Special Premieres on HISTORY®". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2022-12-28.
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40°30′06″N 79°52′14″W / 40.5017095°N 79.8705323°W / 40.5017095; -79.8705323

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