Molecular Cloud
Millénaire de Caen
2025
To celebrate its millennium, the city of Caen launched a year-long celebration of its historical heritage in 2025, accompanied by an investment program in contemporary artistic creation.
Among the selected projects, Molecular Cloud conceived by French artist Vincent Leroy, foreshadows the final work of the new art trail. In 2024, Blam won the public contract to support the artist in the development of his work. This new collaboration covers the technical design and manufacturing phases, right through to on-site installation.
Molecular Cloud is a monumental work conceived as a celestial nebula formed of 31 mirror-polished spheres, paying tribute to Caen’s identity as a city of arts and sciences. Impressive in its scale, 11.50 meters long and reaching 8 meters in height, the installation re-examines the individual's relationship with works of art by creating a bridge between sculpture and urban space.
Entirely manufactured from stainless steel to ensure the work's longevity, each sphere was hydroformed and then manually polished to achieve reflections as close to reality as possible. Behind this apparent lightness lies rigorous engineering and metalwork: mastering innovative hydroforming techniques, designing structures capable of supporting steel spheres 2 meters in diameter, ensuring their stability in public spaces, and maintaining mirror-polish quality across all surfaces. Every technical detail was considered to ensure that nothing would disrupt the formal purity of the work.
By exploiting curved lines and the omnipresence of the mirror, Molecular Cloud proposes to reintroduce the principles of the Space Age movement into the public sphere by integrating the full contemporaneity of new manufacturing techniques. It thus constitutes a true fusion of technical prowess and the aesthetics of lightness.
location
Caen, France
year
client
Millénaire de Caen
images
Blam
Vincent Leroy
mission
Technical Design, Prototyping, Production, Installation
collaborators
Vincent Leroy - Design
dimensions
Height: 8.00m
Length: 11.50m
Width: 8.00m
role
Mechanical Engineering, Boilermaking, Hydroforming, Welding, Mechanical Polishing, Assembly
Each sphere was hydroformed and then hand-polished to achieve reflections as close to reality as possible.
By leveraging curved lines and the omnipresence of mirrors, Molecular Cloud seeks to reintroduce the principles of the Space Age movement into the public sphere, while incorporating the full contemporary potential of new manufacturing techniques.
