Architecture and design blogArt and design This article is more than 11 years oldTrampoline bridge could let you bounce across the Seine
This article is more than 11 years oldParisian architects propose an inflatable doughnut structure over the river to rival London's wobbly bridgeWhen London had a wobbly bridge, we did everything in our power to tame it.
The mildly thrilling sensation of the Millennium Bridge's metallic deck undulating beneath our feet was apparently too much to bear – it was closed, two days after opening. 20 months, 90 dampers and £5m later, it reopened, with the leaden stillness of a concrete road bridge.
The French, it seems, are a little more adventurous.
Plans unveiled by Atelier Zündel Cristea could see an inflatable trampoline bridge let you bounce all the way across the Seine.
In their response to an ideas competition for a new bridge in Paris, which called for "a new icon or landmark" to add to the 37 bridges that already span the Seine, the architects wrote:
"It appears to us that Paris already has the bridges and passages necessary for the flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic across its waterways. Our intention is to invite its visitors and inhabitants to engage on a newer and more playful path across this same water."
Their proposal takes the form of three gigantic inflatable doughnuts, with trampoline webbing stretched across their centres, allowing people to bounce from ring to ring and experience a "joyful release from gravity" as they hop, spring and somersault their way across the river.
The inflatable PVC modules would be 30m in diameter and filled with 3,700 cubic metres of air, attached by cord in a self-supporting structure and held in tension to form a series of arches. The bridge would be accessed by a cantilevered staircase at either end – with the option of dismounting on a slide.
Health and safety concerns have already been raised, with one blogger raging: "This is a terrible, terrible idea … It'll never happen, because people would sue the berets off of anyone who put it up for the injuries that would ensue."
Explore more on these topicsShareReuse this contentncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaJmiqa6vsMOeqqKfnmSus6%2FHoquem6Sqv6Z5w56qop%2BeYq%2Btu8ZoaWlpYmS8pMCOa2lorKKWurG7y6KlnmWSp7als8Rmmaitnpiybr7Ir5yrZaOatq%2BxjKmYq6Gj