Meet the Greens
Our virtual family, the Greens, represent the type of family we built the Discovery 3 House for. They are modern and practical, and want to live in an environmentally responsible way without sacrificing their standard of living or level of comfort
The Discovery 3 House was designed as a place that our virtual family would love to live in with all the conveniences and features modern families expect. We thought about how this house would work through out the whole life cycle of a family’s use; from two people to kids to empty nest, Discovery 3’s design works. Discovery 3 is a three bedroom plus den bungalow with an upper level development. The house features a formal dining room, three bathrooms, a main floor living room and an upper loft family room.
Download Discovery 3
House floorplan
(PDF file - 140KB)
The design of Discovery 3 also contributes to its operation as a system. For the house to operate at peak energy efficient performance Avalon oriented the house for maximum exposure to the south and west to maximize the solar potential. The house was designed with enough south wall area to allow for the solar thermal collectors. The roof pitch and area was designed to accommodate the Photo Voltaic roof panels as well as allow for the developable attic space. Because a basement is a major source of heat loss, it was eliminated in favour of the attic development space which is warmer, better insulated and well suited as living space. Lastly, window sizes and orientation were chosen for a comfortable temperature both winter and summer.
