Paris plans for three new futuristic bridges over the River Seine
The Local France - [email protected]
Published: 16 Nov, 2017 CET.
Updated: Thu 16 Nov 2017 14:06 CET
Paris City Hall wants to build three bridges over the River Seine that would transform the look of the historic river banks.
Paris is often accused of being a museum city, but that won't be the case for much longer if Mayor Anne Hidalgo has anything to say about it.
As City Hall prepares to launch an appeal for designs for three new bridges, the look of the historic Seine river in the heart of the city could be about to make one giant leap into the future.
And while you might (understandably) be wondering how much a few new constructions can really change in a big capital city, these will be no ordinary bridges.
Firstly they would all be exclusively for pedestrians and 'soft' modes of transport like bikes. And secondly, they would include gardens, cafes, shops and perhaps even offices as part of a move that could bring the French capital into the 21st century.
Photo: AFP
At the moment there are no examples of this kind of construction anywhere in the world, at least on the scale imagined by the Paris authorities.
Two of the new walkways would bridge the River Seine between the 12th and 13th arrondissements in what will be the new district of Bercy-Charenton and between the fourth and fifth arrondissements, in the historic centre of the capital near the Tino Rossi Garden.
The third would be built in the west between the 15th and sixteenth arrondissements, near the André-Citroën Park.
If the project goes ahead it would boost the number of bridges in the city from 37 to 40 and is being seen as an innovative way of re-inventing the city despite the limited amount of spare land.
Although there are currently no bridges like it in the world, there are plans for a 2km-long bridge to be built in China which will include housing, designed by the Parisian architect Marc Mimram.
Photo: AFP
"Today, the reflection is on how infrastructure can create value, how we can install public facilities," explained Mimram, according to a report in Le Parisien.
The Paris mayor is no stranger to welcoming new ways to innovate the city.
In July, The Local reported on City Hall's plans to breathe fresh life into forgotten spaces along the Seine, with a project that will see parts the river banks completely transformed.
The "Reinvent the Seine" project (Reinventer la Seine) will see 13 abandoned spaces in the greater Paris region of Ile-de-France - eight of which are located in the French capital itself - turned into meeting spots, co-working spaces, lodgings and hotels or places to go out.
And in 2016, The Local reported on 22 projects that were set to transform the capital into a city of the future as part of Hidalgo's Reinvent Paris project.
Architects were challenged to revamp certain sites in order to “make Paris even more attractive, accessible and environmentally friendly”.
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Photo: Paris Town Hall/Twitter
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Paris is often accused of being a museum city, but that won't be the case for much longer if Mayor Anne Hidalgo has anything to say about it.
As City Hall prepares to launch an appeal for designs for three new bridges, the look of the historic Seine river in the heart of the city could be about to make one giant leap into the future.
And while you might (understandably) be wondering how much a few new constructions can really change in a big capital city, these will be no ordinary bridges.
Firstly they would all be exclusively for pedestrians and 'soft' modes of transport like bikes. And secondly, they would include gardens, cafes, shops and perhaps even offices as part of a move that could bring the French capital into the 21st century.
Photo: AFP
At the moment there are no examples of this kind of construction anywhere in the world, at least on the scale imagined by the Paris authorities.
Two of the new walkways would bridge the River Seine between the 12th and 13th arrondissements in what will be the new district of Bercy-Charenton and between the fourth and fifth arrondissements, in the historic centre of the capital near the Tino Rossi Garden.
The third would be built in the west between the 15th and sixteenth arrondissements, near the André-Citroën Park.
If the project goes ahead it would boost the number of bridges in the city from 37 to 40 and is being seen as an innovative way of re-inventing the city despite the limited amount of spare land.
Although there are currently no bridges like it in the world, there are plans for a 2km-long bridge to be built in China which will include housing, designed by the Parisian architect Marc Mimram.
Photo: AFP
"Today, the reflection is on how infrastructure can create value, how we can install public facilities," explained Mimram, according to a report in Le Parisien.
The Paris mayor is no stranger to welcoming new ways to innovate the city.
In July, The Local reported on City Hall's plans to breathe fresh life into forgotten spaces along the Seine, with a project that will see parts the river banks completely transformed.
The "Reinvent the Seine" project (Reinventer la Seine) will see 13 abandoned spaces in the greater Paris region of Ile-de-France - eight of which are located in the French capital itself - turned into meeting spots, co-working spaces, lodgings and hotels or places to go out.
And in 2016, The Local reported on 22 projects that were set to transform the capital into a city of the future as part of Hidalgo's Reinvent Paris project.
Architects were challenged to revamp certain sites in order to “make Paris even more attractive, accessible and environmentally friendly”.
READ ALSO:
Photo: Paris Town Hall/Twitter
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