News: French practice bureau faceB has won a competition to design a bridge across the Seine in Paris with plans for a wobbling crossing of stretched steel cables.

Concrete treads would be threaded over the cables, creating a surface that will quiver under the pressure of footsteps.

"In Paris, people don't feel the water," architect Camille Mourier told Dezeen. "We wanted people to feel that they are crossing."

Each cable would be strung onto springs to prevent too much movement.

Traversing the river on either side of the Île de la Cité, the new bridge would be split into two separate halves.

On the southern side of the island, part of the bridge would be pulled down towards the water to create a stepped area where Mourier hopes people will be able to "sit down and have a sandwich".

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Only a narrow pathway would be left to run alongside these steps, which the architects compare to a perilous Himalayan footbridge.

See more stories about bridges, including one that doubles up as a musical instrument.

Here's a project description from bureau faceB:

Water "At-traction"
A pedestrian bridge to stroll along the water

It's in the heart of the city. One of its major attractions. However, you can barely feel it. Maybe on a boat, a little bit on bridges, anyway without intimacy. On the contrary La Seine has to be seen as an out of time place, telling you stories and history. A link through time and space: the water attraction.

This new bridge has to be seen as a light stroke, a thin roadway flirting with the water. Instead of using traditional technics based on compression, it uses a new design, using the potential of traction. Steel cables, strung between the banks by springs, generate a mesh on which concrete beads are threaded.

This fluent area enables new uses. The crossing can be done in two ways. Through a "perilous" one: the very narrow deck gives the feeling of an Himalayan footbridge. Through a space for strolling: the generous space near the water allows to sit, to rest quietly, having lunch, enjoying the proximity of the river and offering a unique perspective on Paris.

Project team: Camille Mourier, François Marcuz, Arnaud Malras, Germain Pluvinage