Written by The duo of Kyrollos Shenouda and Youssef Nassar collaborated for success as KYO Design in Designathon 2025. The two students from the Faculty of Applied Arts, Benha University, Egypt, secured joint third place in the international student competition.
Success in Designation 2025 has been an uplifting experience for the team.
“Seeing all the hard work, late nights, and creativity come to life and to be recognized on such a big stage has been deeply rewarding. It’s given us more confidence in our skills and inspired us to keep pushing boundaries, learn more, and aim even higher in future projects.”
Their entry was inspired by Zaha Hadid. The flowing canopy structure integrates renewable energy through roof-mounted solar panels, while providing shade and shelter throughout the year. Inside open seating and charging stations encourage collaboration, while the sculptural form blends with nature and creates a visually iconic gathering point on campus. The design balances aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability to meet the needs of students and the competition brief.
Participating in Designation 2025 allowed Kyrollos and Youssef to sharpen their Autodesk Fusion skills. They overcame obstacles such as slow internet and limited architectural knowledge to produce a design that stands out for both its aesthetics and functionality.
The jury was keen to recognise KYO Design’s efforts:
“The quirky nature-inspired design captured our attention and marked this project out for recognition. The organic design utilises solar-power and encourages airflow around the space. It offers an accessible outdoor hub where students can gather to work and collaborate.”
About the Designathon
Designathon 2025, organised by KnowledgePoint, was the third edition of a two‑day international online design challenge for teams of engineering and industrial design students. Students were offered training to boost their Autodesk Fusion modelling skills and learn about key workflows.
They then worked in teams of two or three to respond to a sustainable design challenge – the student teams were asked to design an accessible, aesthetically-pleasing outdoor hub where students can gather, work and charge their devices. The solution needed to use a renewable energy source (or sources) for the electrical supply. The design needed to consider durability, usability and impact on the environment.
A key aim of the Designathon is to boost student employability, a point recognised by team KYO Design:
“Winning the third place makes us more confident to share designs and also it was great added to our portfolio.”
This year teams of students from 140 educational institutions took part. 178 projects were submitted, involving 446 participants in 17 countries. Entries were of a very high standard, making the selection of winners very difficult for the jury.
For more information about Designathon 2025 and Autodesk’s commitment to education, visit the Designathon page.