Traversing the Seine in leaps and bounds on a giant trampoline shaped like three doughnuts was an option put forward by French architects, Atelier Zundel Cristea, in response to a design competition.

The proposal won third place in the ArchTriumph Competition 2012 for a new bridge in Paris, which called for a new icon or landmark to add to the 37 bridges across the Seine.

“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,” says the architects, who want to bring a sense of freedom and fun back into city life.

Designed of light materials, such as PVC membrane, the bridge is comprised of 30m diameter inflatable doughnuts, with trampoline webbing across the centre, attached by cord in a self-supporting structure and held in tension to form a series of arches.

In the light of comments raised about money and health and safety issues, Raffaela Schmied, communications officer for the architects, points out that the bridge was never intended to be built: “It was the occasion to create something innovative and fun for stressed Parisians.”