Young Australian designer Andy Wana was this years Gold winner at the 2005 Australian Design Award-Dyson Student award. His ingenious take on the umbrella won him top honors, he calls his design “Lotus 23“. The reengineered umbrella design is fully retractable (retracting like a flower), and folds into a low profile handle. It’s built with flexible ribs that flow with the wind, and when retracted goes completely inside a durable handle, which squeezes the water out onto the sidewalk before you enter a building or car. There are also no sharp points to accidently jab anyone in the eye–a common problem with current umbrella designs. The features just go on and on– it’s double vented so the wind wont turn it into a parachute. The judges said “lateral thinking at its best! This project is an inspiration to all designers to continually question current systems and make them things work better.” Gizmag has a few more details and product shots of Lotus 23.