This paper discusses the relevance of distance learning to the engineering design education. Some key characteristics of design pedagogy seem to fall beyond the scope of current content-based eLearning solutions, including contextual social and collaborative interaction and iterative experimentation. Consequently, an effective eLearning solution for design pedagogy must bridge the gap between the physical and virtual worlds by establishing a virtual collaborative community and providing students with remote access to software and hardware resources. The paper outlines a comprehensive architecture of the eDesign portal that integrates the traditional courseware technology with remotely-accessible hardware-in-the-loop simulation, eCollaboration, and virtual classroom and learning community. The required hardware and software for implementing the eDesign architecture are detailed, and a preliminary assessment of using the eDesign portal for a second-year design course is discussed. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2010.