Balancing Act: Engineering Rigour Meets Artistic Vision

How Soto engineers balanced artistic vision with industrial rigour to define load limits and build the safe ‘Revolver’ apparatus

When the concept involves a rotating structure carrying dynamic loads from live performers, it demands more than a good idea.

Most engineering briefs arrive with a problem clearly defined. Load case known. Industry standards to reference. Precedent or reference designs stored somewhere in literature or project archives.

The Revolver project had none of that.

The Revolver is a new physical theatre work created by artist Masha Terentieva, built around a custom revolving door reimagined as an aerial acrobatic apparatus.

The structure was designed for dance. It needed to represent a revolving door such as in a hotel, a lobby or an office building, have multiple independent rotating parts, support multiple performers, and still look light on stage.

It was commissioned to fit into multiple artforms and genres including installation, contemporary circus, theatre, dance and performance art. So, there were no standards to lean on. No comparable system to reference. The team had to define the problem before they could solve it. 

Masha brought the idea to Thomas Creative, who developed it into a concept. When it came time to turn that concept into a design that could actually be fabricated and perform safely, Thomas Creative called on Soto for the engineering.

“We started with a long list of requirements from Masha around how the apparatus needed to function,” said Braeden Wilson, Associate Lead Mechanical Engineer. “From there, we had to understand how, where and how often it would be used, and balance that with the fabrication, cost and logistical constraints.

“Once we had alignment with both Masha and Thomas Creative on what was feasible, we moved quickly to deliver the design.”

Soto developed the concept into detailed drawings within a tight six-week timeframe.

An unusual load case

The central engineering challenge was one that no standard covers neatly. The structure needed to be stiff enough to perform without deflecting under load, while allowing the central pole and outer door frame to rotate independently. It needed to be safe, light, affordable and efficient to fabricate. 

Before any analysis could begin, the team had to define what the structure would actually be asked to do. Three performers on the outer door frame. A fourth on the central pole. Maximum performer mass agreed. Rotational speed defined. 

From there, Soto could establish an ideal balanced load case and, by removing one performer from the door, a maximum unbalanced load case to check the structure against.

Testing the apparatus design further, the team experimented by increasing the allowable rotational speed of the outer door frame, resulting in an exponential increase in the reaction loads. That relationship between speed and load set the limits of what the apparatus could do.

This isn’t a structure that can fail. 

Where engineering pushes back

The temptation in an unusual project is to default to conservatism. Restrict the functional requirements. Apply a high factor of safety. Produce something overbuilt.

The opposite risk is just as real. Allow too much and the engineering problem outgrows the budget and timeline. Neither served the project. The answer was in understanding what Masha genuinely needed the apparatus to do and designing to that, not around it.

“We had to understand the non-negotiables of the design’s functional requirements and strive for a solution with high usability and function that ensures safety and works within time and budget,” Braeden said. “I enjoyed the challenge of understanding the user, keeping to the tight budget and time constraints and contributing to something that will bring joy and entertainment to people.”

That balance required input across the business, from the head of mechanical through to a recently hired graduate, with senior experience guiding junior capability at each stage. The dynamic loading presented its own challenges. Unlike the predictable forces of a fixed industrial structure, the loading here changed with every movement.

“Understanding load cases for the dynamic movement of performers was interesting compared to the predictable loading of typical industrial systems,” said Jack Mattingly, Mechanical Engineer. 

“Once the strength and stiffness of the apparatus was confirmed, being able to optimise the design for aesthetic purposes without compromising the performance space or strength was both interesting and challenging.”

For an apparatus that will be seen by audiences rather than plant engineers, aesthetics mattered as much as the structural analysis that preceded it.

Masha Terentieva said: “As a director, I was blown away by the professionalism, ingenuity and creativity that Soto engineers brought to the table. It was a pleasure and a blessing to collaborate with them. 

“From the first time Revolver was built up, as we tested the prop with human load – it became apparent that this is truly high-end quality design that functions predictably, smoothly and safely”  

Revolver, supported by Creative Australia, made its performance debut on 3 April at the Flying Fruit Fly Circus in Albury in a creative residency, as the first stage of a larger touring production.

The same rigour, a different context

The Revolver project is not typical Soto work. But the engineering process that produced it is identical to the one applied on any industrial project. Understand the functional requirements. Define the load cases. Iterate through preliminary design. Balance safety, function and cost. Deliver something that works.

The problems change. The thinking doesn’t.

Featured Photo Supplied By Jasper Wood – @jwvisuals