Las Malvinas destacamento: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:52, 23 September 2014

Abstract

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

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

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

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

See our Literature Review for relevant research completed for this project.

Final Design

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.

Budget

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

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

Constructing a destacamento

Team

References

Template:Reflist See Literature Review

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 [[File:LasMalvinas Destacamento finalwall1.jpg|thumb|upright=3|right|The destacamento in Las Malvinas as of July 1, 2014. Walls consist of traditional cement blocks as well as alternative coconut husk, newspaper, sawdust, and "Soviet" blocks.]]
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