ECO History

James McDonald began drifting towards a healthier and more responsible way of building in the mid 80s. In 1993 he scraped together funding to undertake a Eugene landmark Ecobuilding project, “The Environmentally Responsible House” at 2270 Monroe Street. After that James moved on to build Eugene’s first permitted straw bale house and the first Rastra block house. Ecobuilding remained a labor of love for many years. Then in 2006, James knew it was time to take the next 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. ECO has had the incredible fortune of working with amazing 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.