HERB-Lab congratulates Vivienne Evans on her outstanding achievement in receiving the WPI Provost Award for her Major Qualifying Project, “What Makes a Home?” Vivienne was also selected as a finalist for the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department Advisory Board Award, reflecting the exceptional quality, creativity, and impact of her work.
Vivienne’s MQP explored the meaning of home through the lens of design, human experience, and the built environment. Her project reflects the kind of thoughtful, people-centered inquiry that HERB-Lab values: research and design that recognize buildings not only as physical structures, but also as places that shape comfort, identity, belonging, and well-being.
PI Ma was honored to advise Vivienne throughout this journey and is incredibly proud of her dedication, curiosity, and growth. Vivienne’s achievement is a powerful example of what can happen when students are encouraged to ask meaningful questions, pursue creative ideas, and connect architectural engineering with human experience. HERB-Lab congratulates Vivienne on this well-deserved recognition and wishes her continued success as she begins her next chapter at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has set an inspiring example for future students, and we are excited to see the impact she will make in the years ahead.