The project to build a small destacamento (police outpost) in the community of Las Malvinas was decided upon by members of the community as a priority for the Practivistas program to assist in during the months of May-July 2014. By working with the community to construct this destacamento, the community of Las Malvinas, which is far from the urban center and impoverished, will be provided police officers by the government, which will hopefully increase community safety.
Background[edit | edit source]
The project to build a small destacamento has been at minimum several years in the making in the community of Las Malvinas. It had been brought up by residents of the community prior to 2014, but other projects, such as the construction of a small pharmacy, had taken priority. In the months of May through July, 2014 the destacamento was on the list of projects to be started by members of the community and the Practivistas. During a community meeting, the criteria (which are displayed below) were formulated and the search began for a suitable spot to begin construction. This spot was found along a section of one of the main roads through town. This area provides a great deal of accessibility. The destacamento will be built using some relatively environmentally friendly fibercrete blocks (also discussed below), but the idea of using an old shipping container was also evaluated. The minimum goal for the project in 2014 is to build the foundation and the platform on which the rest of the destacamento can be built. This goal was to be met by July 5, 2014.
Objective[edit | edit source]
The community of Las Malvinas is looking to decrease crime by constructing a destacamento. The objective of this project was to design and construct a destacamento using alternative blocks created by the block team. The block team created alternative cement blocks by using coconut husks, sawdust, rice ash, and newspaper mixed with cement.
Criteria[edit | edit source]
This section includes the aspects that the group and community members decided to use for the project. The criteria and constraints were chosen based on how the project will be planned and evaluated. The criteria and weight ranking help determine how much effort will be invested for each different aspect.
| Criteria | Constraints | Weight (0-10) |
|---|---|---|
| Aesthetics | Must be aesthetically pleasing | 8 |
| Comfort | Structure is able to withstand high temperatures without becoming excessively hot | 9 |
| Economical | Must be within program budget range | 4 |
| Replicable | Community members must be able to replicate design | 7 |
| Durable | Must be long lasting and able to withstand potential natural disasters | 10 |
| Security | Must be secure from potential burglary | 8 |
| Sustainable | Materials used are environmentally friendly and sustainable | 10 |
Literature Review[edit | edit source]
See our Literature Review for relevant research completed for this project.
Final Design[edit | edit source]
The final design was created with guidance from local police officers, community members, and traditional destacamento designs. The foundation was dug three feet deep all the way around and filled with rebar before being filled with concrete. The middle trench is used as support for the middle wall. The first room was designed to be bigger than the back room as it will serve as an entry and lobby for police officers stationed in Las Malvinas. The smaller back room will contain a holding cell as well as a bathroom.
Foundation sketch.
Destacamento walls, door, and windows sketched.
View of rooms within destacamento.
Budget[edit | edit source]
This is the cost of materials for the foundation of the destacamento and the first layers of blocks for the walls. Prices are listed in Dominican Pesos.
| Material | Quantity | Unit price (RD$) | Total (RD$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebar | 30 bars (20ft each) | 280 | 8,400 |
| Cement bags | 25 | 280 | 7,000 |
| Gravel | 10m3 | 200 | 2,000 |
| Sand | 10m3 | 280 | 2,800 |
| Traditional cement blocks | 315 | 16 | 5,040 |
| Total Cost | $25,240.00 | ||
Timeline[edit | edit source]
Here is a timeline of events associated with the research, design, and construction of the Las Malvinas destacamento.
| Task | Date Proposed | Date Completed |
|---|---|---|
| Complete literature review | 06/06/14 | 06/07/14 |
| Establish site location | 06/06/14 | 06/13/14 |
| Start digging foundation | 06/06/14 | 06/14/14 |
| Design destacamento | 06/13/14 | 06/15/14 |
| Finish budget | 06/13/14 | 06/15/14 |
| Locate supplies | 06/13/14 | 06/15/14 |
| Purchase supplies | 06/15/14 | 06/20/14 |
| Finish digging foundation | 06/20/14 | 06/20/14 |
| Level ground | 06/20/14 | 06/21/14 |
| Finish tying rebar | 06/22/14 | 06/24/14 |
| Pour concrete for foundation | 06/21/14 | 06/24/14 |
| Lay brick | 06/22/14 | 07/01/14 |
| Finish foundation | 06/23/14 | 07/01/14 |
| Lay bricks for walls | 06/25/14 | 07/01/14 |
Construction[edit | edit source]
Mark where to dig foundation.
Foundation area chalked and ready for digging.
Dig foundation.
Digging commences.
Digging with community help.
Middle trench being dug.
Tie rebar into forms for the foundation.
Bending rebar into ties.
Spacing rebar ties.
Spacing rebar ties evenly.
Tie rebar into forms for the foundation.
Begin tying.
Get as many rebar tiers as possible.
Tie all night.
Place rebar forms into trenches dug for foundation.
fitting the forms into the trench
try again
push and shove it till it fits
Pour concrete into foundation to the level of the rebar forms.
Mixing a lot of concrete.
Pouring concrete in the front trench.
All trenches poured to rebar height.
Lay bricks and fill in the gaps with cement.
Traditional and alternative blocks aquired.
Beginning to mix cement mixture for blocks.
Learning how to lay blocks with the maestro.
Lay bricks and fill in the gaps with cement.
Working with community members to lay blocks.
More community assistance to get the walls up.
All blocks laid at the destacamento.
Destacamento site location established.
Digging for the foundation.
Team effort to remove large slab.
Work cut short due to land dispute. Accusations of illegal police station.
Community assisting with the breaking of large cement slab.
Community assisting with the breaking of large cement slab.
Digging to desired depth. Back trench contained a large amount of trash.
A lot of trash.
Thor helps us by smashing large cement slab.
Aftermath of Thor's hammering.
Community members help us dig out the trenches.
Front trench dug to desired depth.
Very large cement slab chipped away to dig to desired depth.
Starting to dig the middle trench.
Rear trench dug to desired depth.
Large cement slab being chipped away.
All trenches dug to desired depth. Ready for rebar.
All rebar for foundation tied and ready to be installed.
All rebar for foundation transported to destacamento site.
Installing rebar into foundation.
Rebar being resized in foundation.
Retying rebar in foundation to tie to other columns.
Mixing concrete for foundation base.
Mixing a lot of concrete for foundation base.
Concrete being poured intro trenches onto rebar.
Maestro Gregory teaching how to lay blocks.
Laying the first row of blocks on the front trench.
Maestro Eddie assisting Bob.
Laying blocks with Jose's help on the side trench.
Laying blocks alongside community members.
All blocks laid. Patchwork of alternative blocks can be seen.
Block team with Noe in front of destacamento.
Team[edit | edit source]
