In the late 1980's, Michael Dickens and Mark Tilley worked in Pittsfield, MA, for General Electric in its Plastics division researching new housing technologies for GE's Living Environments program. Spurred by a desire to generate better ideas for building homes, Dickens and Tilley decided to extend their research beyond the Living Environments demonstration home. In 1990, they convinced GE to help them assemble a consortium of companies to continue this R&D quest. One of those companies was United States Gypsum (USG), whose technical champion was Brad Oberg.
The consortium began in early 1991 in Pittsburgh, and became known as IBACOS, exploring the relationships between a home's systems and investigating improved methods of design and construction. By late that year, both Dickens and Oberg had relocated to Pittsburgh to spearhead IBACOS' strategic and technical programs.
In 1992, Dickens and Oberg traveled to the White House to campaign for their common cause with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). They received financial support from the DOE to further IBACOS' work, helping establish what is now Building America. The Building America program continues to be an important part of IBACOS' mission of improving the energy efficiency of the nation's homes.
In 1994, Tilley left GE and joined Dickens and Oberg full-time. Together, the three business partners lead IBACOS activities to this day. Their passion to improve the quality and performance of homes has also led to the creation of two other companies, EQA Landmark Communities and BuildIQ.
EQA Landmark Communities came from the recognition that builders can be tough to convince to build better homes. The partners turned to community developers to determine if they might have more influence. In 1997, EQA became IBACOS' first spin-off company, led by Partner Brett Malky, with a mission to deliver high performance homes on a community scale.
In 2001, a second company was created to focus on web-based learning for the homebuilding industry. Over the years, IBACOS had recognized that training was a key deficiency in the market. In response to this need, BuildIQ was created to provide builders with internet-based training, tools, and information on homebuilding Best Practices.
In the late 1990's, IBACOS began working directly with homebuilders on a consulting basis. Today, we continue to conduct research for Building America, but we are also focused on growing our offerings to builders, providing strategic and technical consulting services, systems-based research and innovative tools and products. We also work with selected manufacturers on a case-by-case basis.
Built in Pittsburgh, PA at Washington's Landing, Lab Home E broke ground in 1996. It began as a response to a builder's need to cost-effectively provide occupant comfort and air quality in a four-story townhome community. Completed in 1997, the results of this program have been used to educate others nationwide on appropriate design solutions for tall residential structures.
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