Ultimately, in green design, says McDonough, it's impossible to separate the aesthetic and the environmental components of a building project. "They are inextricably interwoven," he says. "I believe that the house of the future will have to be a combination of advanced technology and environmental consciousness filtered through the artist's eye." As such, he says, the house has been designed to catch sunlight in every room, supporting passive solar heating as well as providing "that first jolt, like coffee, that people always want in the morning. Even the north side master bedroom catches some sun every day of the year, and the house is designed for the first ray of light to enter it on the morning of each summer and winter solstice."

In the end, nature is e-House's greatest influence. "It really came from thinking about the natural beauty of the site, my enchantment with the forest and the sky," says McDonough, "the possibility of technological innovation, the colors of light in changing seasons - a process of reflection and study and synthesis." The best example of nature's influence is perhaps found in the north-side deck. Overlooking a meadow, it features steps (made of laminated veneer lumber) for seating, morning coffee, and holding potted plants. McDonough calls this feature his "architectural quote" from Casa Malaparte, a mid-20th-century house in Capri, Italy, believed by some to be the most beautiful house in the world. "It's an autobiographical fact," he explains. "I stayed in it and worked in it and wrote a book on it.... I admire its relationship to nature, its process, its contradictions and brilliance, and its wonderful monumental roof stair. I am searching, I am asking, 'How do we live joyfully and responsibly in a technological age?'" Even on the dark, rainy afternoon of my visit to e-House, the stepped deck was a lovely place to be. As I sat with McDonough, listening to the rain on the roof and watching the mist rise from the meadow below, I knew he'd found the answer to his question.

E-House foundations are constructed using gravel walls, recycled slag, and a compact concrete beam.  The result is a stronger building with excellent drainage, and 80% less concrete.

At the west wall, the outline of the monumental at the roof deck is visible, as is the cantilevered master bedroom, which is shaded from the hot western summer sun by a large overhang.

"I believe in the democratic, information-sharing idealism that fostered the Internet and World Wide Web. Literally everything in e-House was researched, purchased, and delivered using the Internet, and my Web site lists these materials and has slide shows showing their installation. It is free and setup so architects, designers, builders and homeowners can find the information easily. The idea is to suggest that extraordinary building materials and systems exist, and that they can be used to interpret a building's relationship to the sun, to the ground, to a larger sense of community.... I imagined that solutions existed, and found a half dozen ways to reduce the amount of concrete in a building while making it more cost-effective and less damaging to the environment. The things we need, the processes we need are out there. We just need to seek them out."
--Michael McDonough