Angle Optimization

Working on CATIA model for next installation by OylerWu Collaborative. This project is sequential to their previous two installations, Pendulum Plane, and Density Field. Their highly sculptural stairs with enormous wings -again, made out of aluminum pipes (1 inch diameter)- seems challenging enough to support its own weight, but it has to support live load this time.

Since the architects designed the form going through hundreds of itterations, I simply focused on angle optimization, rather than producing veriations. Their original form consists of totally unique angles, so I constrained series of angles that appear to be similar.

But... how much decimal-place-dead-on accuracy in idealized computer world matters if those aluminum pipes are cut, bent, welded by human hands ?

This optimazation is not ment for reducing construction tolerance to achieve perfection, but for the preparation of frameworks (jigs). At least some sets of angles are constrained to be same, fabricators (students) can produce templetes for identical bending.