French practice bureau faceB has redefined the pedestrian bridge with their winning design concept that allows Paris residents to “flirt with the water” as they traverse across an intentionally unstable bridge. Dubbed “Water at-traction”, the atypical bridge embraces the potential of traction as it’s steel cables stretch across the Seine in Paris and reconnects the city to the water.
Learn more after the break.
Steel cables, strung between the banks by springs, generate a mesh on which concrete beads are threaded. This creates “thin roadways” that offer two types of crossing. First, a more typical route that allows direct access to the other side. And secondly, a seemingly “perilous” option reminiscent of Himalayan footbridges that allows pedestrian to stroll along the water’s surface while serving as a waterfront, lunch break destination.
“The objective was to get closer to the water, to regain contact with the river,” bureau faceB’s Camille Mourier stated, according to Fast Co.Design. “Going over the water is an event in itself. We wanted the pedestrian to find this feeling. It’s like a perilous flirt with the Seine.”
Design Team: Arnaud Malras, François Marcuz, Camille Mourier, Germain Pluvinage
