Rate My Professor Kotaro Nakamura

Kotaro Nakamura serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Interior Design at Iowa State University of Science and Technology, a position he assumed on July 1, 2023, for a five-year renewable appointment. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from Kanto Gakuin University in Japan in 1977 and a Master of Arts in Art and Environmental Design from San Diego State University in 1980. As a licensed architect in California and LEED Accredited Professional, he possesses over 40 years of experience as a founding principal of Roesling Nakamura Terada (RNT) Architects in San Diego. Prior to Iowa State, Nakamura was Professor Emeritus of Interior Architecture at San Diego State University from 2019 to 2023, Director of the School of Art and Design from 2015 to 2019, and Interim Director from 2013 to 2015.

Nakamura's research interests center on improving the well-being of people and the environment to foster resilience, encompassing disaster relief, recovery, and prevention; resilient design adapted to upper Midwest climates, including mass timber for tornado-resistant housing; sustainable communities; and energy- and water-efficient architecture. He has directed prominent projects such as the Japanese Friendship Garden Inamori Pavilion and Botanical Building restoration at Balboa Park in San Diego, the reconstruction of the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, flood replacement housing in New Orleans, housing for fire-destroyed homes in the southwest U.S., and tsunami relief in Japan. Nakamura has lectured and published extensively on disaster recovery design, Japanese aesthetics, and sustainable architecture and design. Among his accolades are multiple American Institute of Architects (AIA) Design Awards, the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from San Diego AIA, and honors from the Concrete Masonry Association of California and Nevada, Center for Sustainable Energy, and American Public Works Association. He teaches a range of interior design courses emphasizing experiential learning and interdisciplinary collaboration and holds memberships in AIA, the National Organization of Minority Architects, and the U.S. Green Building Council, with past board service for the Ilan Lael Foundation, San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society, and San Diego Model Railroad Museum.