alessandro busana adds cup to umbrella to contain water drips

alessandro busana adds cup to umbrella to contain water drips
all images courtesy of alessandro busana

italian designer alessandro busana of hole designstudio has given the umbrella an updated identity through the addition of a functional improvement. ‘cup’ confers a new aesthetic personality to the umbrella, by replacing the classic sting-like ending of the object with a colored rubber hemisphere. the flexible bowl avoids the creation of water stains on the floor and guarantees functional independence to the object, eliminating the need for an umbrella stand. busana explains, ‘the umbrella is a seemingly anonymous and ordinary object, but it has always fascinated me. its ability to evolve itself instantly, gaining volume and functionality led me to approach the project with the same simplicity and spontaneity. taking inspiration from the open shape of the umbrella, I thought of a container element reminiscent of its archetypical form, creating a functional plus integrated as much as possible with the object of origin. the result is the combination between a common object and an unexpected foreign element that carries out an elementary function evoking curiosity and surprise.’

the rubber detail gives a new aesthetic personality, and total functional independence to the everyday object

water drips flow in to the container, avoiding the creation of stains on the floor

detail of rubber ‘cup’

comparing a traditional umbrella to the umbrella with the cup addition

contains falling rain water in the rubber sphere

sketch of concepts outline container use