Traditionally the envelopes of houses are site-assembled from basic components with separate materials serving as the structural members, the weather shield, and the thermal insulation. In this recently completed project composite materials were developed that combined these separate functions. In addition, a construction system well suited to automated fabrication and simple field assembly is being developed. A proof-of-concept roof system, the first product of this research, is based on innovative design and analysis strategies and is compatible with conventional systems while minimizing house-specific design. The roof components include thin-ribbed stress-skin panels, a multi-function ridgebeam and a spline-connection scheme.