Altamont provided leadership, design, engineering services, and construction oversight for implementation of environmentally friendly restrooms with composting toilets and a green roof at Pearson’s Fall in Tryon, North Carolina. The spectacular falls are located on the property of the Tryon Garden Club in Tryon, North Carolina, and attract 15,000 to 18,000 visitors per year. The Tryon Garden Club bought the property in order to preserve this unique mountain glen in 1931.
“Pearson’s Falls is a gem,” says Tony Hauser, R.L.A, P.E. , Altamont’s project manager for the restroom project. “The falls are spectacular and the diversity of native plant material offers year-round interest. “
The new restrooms are reflective of key elements of the Club’s mission including preservation, protection, education, and sustainability. The limited use of composting toilet technology in North Carolina required Altamont to stay in close communication with Polk County and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Features such as specimen plant material, rock outcrops, rocky soil, existing buildings, an existing well, Colt Creek, and other existing uses required careful location of the proposed new building. Altamont worked closely with the owner to determine the character of the building and incorporate the desired functions within and around the new structure.
“If you are lucky enough to speak to a member of the Tryon Garden Club when you visit, you will have a chance to learn about the history that preserved this site and the wonderful native plants,” Hauser says.
Photos of the completed restrooms and the ribbon-cutting ceremony are shown below. Click here to view the construction photos from start to finish!