Press Release by Frank Schooley
It’s Rare When Something Comes Along That’s New
"This is Truly New!"
Do you realize that human beings are using resources faster than Nature can replace them? Would you say the rate is falling or rising? It’s so simple, so incredibly obvious. Exponential growth inside a finite system leads inevitably to system collapse. That’s all of us! But people don’t see it or choose to not see it. Is the Earths’ house on fire? Obviously so. Should we do something about it, or stand with those who are content to watch it burn?
Paraphrased, with thanks to Richard Powers and his thought-provoking book, ‘Overstory’
Food, Water, Shelter: These are basic human needs, life’s Bottom Line. Without these, there is misery, suffering, and death. We often talk about the need for food and water, but between Wars, Natural Disasters, Homelessness, Expanding Population, and Climate Change, the need for Shelter is growing by the day. According to the UNHCR, we are adding 220,000 people to our planet, every day, the equivalent of the population of Philadelphia, every week. Homeless numbers are growing and any viable solution must be both affordable and sustainable over time. This problem might seem impossible to address. It is not.
“Think about it, decent housing for everyone makes a better world economy for everyone.” F.W. Schooley
Who: Frank Woolworth Schooley is a Product Designer familiar with manufacturing skills. He uses Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software, and Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines to manufacture cabinets. In the last 15 years, he used these skills to develop Terrapeg Furniture and a versatile new building, Shelter In A Day
What: Medium Density Fiberboard, (MDF): In 2008 Frank was computer designing a new type of furniture, cut using CNC technology. His early tries were wasteful, with many attempts for his first successful chair, so he was cutting MDF because it is the least expensive sheet material available. MDF is typically a 4x8’ sheet of thick (1/4 up to 1 inch or more) unbleached brown paper. It is a commodity material with more than 150 mills now producing it worldwide. It is generally produced using forest industry wastes and made with 100% recycled wood fibers, either pre-consumer like bark and waste wood fiber, or post-consumer like recycled cardboard. It is vastly different from particleboard (sawdust and glue) the stuff of cheap, crumbly furniture and cabinets so familiar in all our lives. Like all materials, MDF has its strengths and its weaknesses. It is amazingly strong in two dimensions, with smooth surfaces and edges, so edge banding is not needed. It is above all inexpensive and arguably among the most Sustainable, Green building materials on the planet. On the other hand, it does not glue, screw or nail well, especially on its edges which tend to split, and as a result, is seldom used for structural applications like furniture or building construction. Working with MDF, Frank learned to love this versatile, inexpensive, and sustainable material and continued designing furniture with it.
He developed a simple fastening method, the Tool-Free Joint, a modern adaption of a traditional carpenter joint, the mortise and tenon. Taking advantage of MDF’s strengths to defeat its faults, the Tool-Free Joint is amazingly strong, uses no metal parts, needs no metal tools, and is easily assembled (or disassembled) using just an MDF hammer cut from waste stock. All parts of the structure and joinery are cut with CNC technology, quickly, precisely, and inexpensively. Terrapeg Furniture or Shelter housing can be cut, and ready to ship in minutes or hours.
Where: In January 2010, the Haiti Earthquake devastated the Island, causing a quarter-million deaths and another 300K injuries. All our hearts went out to Haiti’s people. They have no commercial forests and their poorly-built, cement block houses fell on them, causing almost all their injuries and deaths. “I couldn’t sleep, wondering what the next generation house for Haiti would look like.” I asked myself “Could MDF be used for Disaster Relief housing for Haiti?”
Why: It took six months of cut and try until Frank finished his house design. It uses inexpensive waterproof MDF material exclusively and is easily assembled using the Tool Free Joint. It has several novel features like finger joints between the panels, making the design amazingly strong. There are just 7 different panels and seven different connector pieces keeping the design and assembly simple, and it will not assemble incorrectly. The building can be 12x4 feet and lengthened in 4-foot increments to 12x8, 12x12, 12x28, or more. As the name implies, a 12x16 building can be CNC cut and stacked for shipping by two people with a CNC Router in a single shift, and the building can be set up by two reasonably strong people anywhere, including door and window and screen hardware, easily in an afternoon, without power tools of any kind, using just the MDF hammer.
Keep in mind, that the cost of any type of traditional construction is far more than the cost of the materials. Labor, travel, room, board, tools, power, material gathering, material waste, fasteners, installation, foundations, lifespan, all and more must be figured into the final cost of any traditional construction. Shelter In A Day starting at about $5k can be favorably compared with the traditional tent used for disaster relief in overall cost but Shelter includes security for people and their precious possessions and a tent does not.
Within a year of the Haiti earthquake, Frank set up a test building in Fort Myers to see if it would withstand the test of time. No one knew as nothing like it has ever been done before. Over 11 years later, the first test structure, and a second Shelter that has been put up, taken down, and moved six times, have endured amazingly well. Neither has weathered appreciably, and both withstood two hurricanes, including a direct hit from Irma, a Cat. 3-4 storm. The day after Irma’s eyewall passed over, several large trees were down all around the test Shelter, and one door was found unsecured, flapping in the wind. No damage was done to either structure. After 11 years in SW FL, tied down over a simple foundation of cheap pavers, both are strong, live able, and in remarkably good condition and should last as long as they are needed.
Semi-Permanent Housing Homelessness in the US is at record levels and spending is rising with awareness, but real progress has been limited. History teaches us that for various reasons, Governments worldwide resist building permanent housing for the homeless. Interestingly, Shelter in a Day creates a surprising compromise between the insecure tent and the permanent house. Shelters’ cost is much closer to the tent but features secure, lockable refuge for people and their precious possessions. We call it ‘Semi-Permanent Housing’. The Shelter is remarkably both secure and impermanent (being made from paper), and has a chance to create a unique place in these markets in the future. The incredibly low cost of Shelter can be micro-financed for the daily price of a convenience store sandwich.
The bottom line is that yes we can solve these homeless problems and worldwide housing shortages, and disaster relief needs, both sustainably, and affordably.
Let’s sum up; And Yes, This is Truly New:
Shelter In A Day is a fundamental advancement in Homeless, Disaster Relief, and Developing World Housing, made with the Earth’s most basic sustainable material, recycled wood fiber.
It is inexpensive to produce, easy to ship (12x12: 4x8x3’), and easy to modify to meet local needs.
Building length is easily extended in 4-foot increments for Homes, Schools, Clinics, and Churches.
Shelter In A Day is a better substitute for tarps or tents. Secure, lockable, and long-lasting,
Shelter ships flat on a pallet and is easily built anywhere, in a day, without tools or power of any kind.
Flat-packed Terrapeg Furniture for any need can be palletized below the building and assembled last.
If you combine Terrapeg furniture with Shelter In A Day housing and it is now possible to build a Furnished Home, School, or Clinic, in one day, affordably and sustainably.
Factory in a Box: All the machines and tooling (including a generator) for manufacturing Shelter In A Day will fit into a standard 20’ shipping container. This can be quickly shipped to any location to meet the needs of developing disaster relief or any Shelter needs. Additional containers, filled with MDF, will enable a quick start to production. There are about 150 MDF producers worldwide. Local material can be accessed whenever possible. ‘Factory-in-a-Box’, is a model for Licensing or Franchise. Ultimately, Shelter In A Day along with Terrapeg Furniture should be available at appropriate building supply stores worldwide.
These designs have won multiple awards including Peoples’ Choice at Inventors Fairs (Lauderdale & Bradenton FL.) and amazingly, ‘Most Innovative Product’, in a landslide vote at the Aid and International Development Forum in Washington D.C., the premier NGO that showcases Disaster Relief Products worldwide.
Intellectual Properties: Over 60 Terrapeg and Shelter In A Day designs are available. We have secured a Patent for Shelter, Copyrights for several Terrapeg designs, and Trademarks for Terrapeg and Shelter In A Day, and we own both Terrapeg.com and ShelterinaDay.com. As of this writing (4/2022), we are singularly owned and have no current legal entanglements.
Respect the Future: The Shelter In A Day design has been tried, tested, and finalized. It has demonstrated its strength, utility, and longevity. Its time has come. We are actively seeking partnerships with anyone with the vision, and resources, to recognize the value of this fundamental advancement in Sustainable Building Technology, and the existential needs it addresses. Want to Help? Get in touch.
Frank Woolworth Schooley, Product Designer
Shelter In A Day & Terrapeg Furniture
Terrapeg@gmail.com
(239) 823-0651