History

James McDonald was building houses for years before the toxic chemicals common in conventional construction caught up with him. In the struggle to recover his health he became determined to build differently. Wanting to reconsider the entire building process,  in 1993 he scraped together funding to undertake a Eugene landmark ecobuilding project, the Environmentally Responsible House.  Though that project was only marginally profitable, James moved on to build Eugene’s first permitted straw bale house and first Rastra block house. Ecobuilding remained a labor of love for many years. Then in 2006, James became certain it was time to take a further step.

“A community of committed individuals could effect change far greater than I could working alone.  And it might just be a whole lot more fun.”   –James

Ecobuilding Collaborative of Oregon (ECO) was established, and from its inception was designed to specialize in the unconventional. From the start, ECO had the incredible fortune of working with an amazing group of clients–each remarkably committed to building green. Early projects tested ECO’s roots and “forged our bone-deep commitment to ecobuilding…not to mention keeping us on our toes.”

“We’ve come to like being pushed beyond our comfort zone–we so often are.”  --James

Everyone at ECO understands that we must constantly stretch and educate ourselves to keep up with the increasing demands and knowledge of our client partners.

In 2011 ECO became a Design-Build company. ECO deeply values collaboration with local architects and intends to continue working with the broader design community. We can also offer in-house design services made possible by the exciting addition of resident designer Aaron Whitney.

Aaron’s background and interests mesh seamlessly with ECO.  He brings a wide range of expertise in many areas, but especially exciting is his knowledge on integrating the built environment with the natural landscape.”  –James