Taro Narahara
Taro Narahara
Associate Professor, School of Art and Design
677 Weston Hall (WEST)
About Me
Taro Narahara is an Associate Professor at the Hillier College of Architecture at NJIT. He has been recognized for his AI/ML-driven floor plan analysis, published in IEEE TMM and SIGGRAPH, and received the 2021 IDR Excellence Award (NII) and the 2020 Human Communication Award (IEICE). As a PI (2022), he led NSF-funded projects in computational design for multifamily residential architecture and collaborated as a co-PI with biomedical engineers on rehabilitation robotics and gaming (2016). As a licensed architect, he had been associated with prestigious firms such as SOM and Gluckman Mayner Architects, contributing to award-winning projects including the Mori Art Museum.
Education
Doctor of Design; Harvard University; Design; 2010
M.S.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Design and Computation in Architecture Studies; 2007
M.Arch.; Washington University in St Louis; Architecture; 1997
B.S.; Waseda University, School of Science and Engineering; Mathematics; 1994
M.S.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Design and Computation in Architecture Studies; 2007
M.Arch.; Washington University in St Louis; Architecture; 1997
B.S.; Waseda University, School of Science and Engineering; Mathematics; 1994
Experience
The Institute of Science Tokyo (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
Overseas Adviser, October 2024 -
The Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA), ETH
Visiting Scholar (Academic Guest), September 2018 - August 2019
Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
Visiting Scholar, September 2018 - August 2019
Gluckman Tang Architects (formally Gluckman Mayner)
Architect, 2000 -
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
Architect, 1997 -
Awards & Honors
2024 Honorable Mention, AI Museum International Design Competition, hosted by Non-a, NON ARCHITECTURE SRL
2022 Academy Encouragement Award, The 15th International VR symposium
2022 Honorable Mention, AEC Tech NYC Hackathon
2021 Informatics Research Data Repository (IDR) Excellence Award, National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Japan
2020 Human Communication (HC) Award, The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) in Japan
2022 Academy Encouragement Award, The 15th International VR symposium
2022 Honorable Mention, AEC Tech NYC Hackathon
2021 Informatics Research Data Repository (IDR) Excellence Award, National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Japan
2020 Human Communication (HC) Award, The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) in Japan
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Website
2025 Spring Courses
USYS 790A - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
USYS 790C - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
USYS 790E - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
USYS 725 - INDEPENDENT STUDY I
USYS 726 - INDEPENDENT STUDY II
USYS 790B - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
USYS 790D - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
USYS 792 - PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
ARCH 689 - AI / VR IN ARCHITECTURE
USYS 790C - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
USYS 790E - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
USYS 725 - INDEPENDENT STUDY I
USYS 726 - INDEPENDENT STUDY II
USYS 790B - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
USYS 790D - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
USYS 792 - PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
ARCH 689 - AI / VR IN ARCHITECTURE
Teaching Interests
I enjoy fostering creativity that is unbounded by current tools' capabilities or limitations. I embrace the challenge of inventing new methodologies alongside my graduate and undergraduate students at all levels.
Past Courses
AD 150: COLOR AND COMPOSITION
AD 463: COLLABORATIVE DESIGN STUDIO
AD 490: ST:
AD 490: ST: EXTREMEFAB: ROBOTICS FOR ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS
AD 490: ST: SMART PRODUCTS:MAKING THINGS THINK
AD 490: ST:COMP DESIGN & DIGITAL INTE
ARCH 463: OPTIONS STUDIO I
ARCH 464: OPTION STUDIO II
ARCH 464: OPTIONS STUDIO II
ARCH 495: ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE STUDIO I
ARCH 563: OPTIONS STUDIO III
ARCH 645: CASE STDIES IN ARCH TECH
ARCH 689: AI / VR IN ARCHITECTURE
DD 275: HISTORY OF GAMES
DD 320: COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN
DD 364: DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO II
DD 464: DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO III
AD 463: COLLABORATIVE DESIGN STUDIO
AD 490: ST:
AD 490: ST: EXTREMEFAB: ROBOTICS FOR ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS
AD 490: ST: SMART PRODUCTS:MAKING THINGS THINK
AD 490: ST:COMP DESIGN & DIGITAL INTE
ARCH 463: OPTIONS STUDIO I
ARCH 464: OPTION STUDIO II
ARCH 464: OPTIONS STUDIO II
ARCH 495: ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE STUDIO I
ARCH 563: OPTIONS STUDIO III
ARCH 645: CASE STDIES IN ARCH TECH
ARCH 689: AI / VR IN ARCHITECTURE
DD 275: HISTORY OF GAMES
DD 320: COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN
DD 364: DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO II
DD 464: DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO III
Research Interests
My research integrates computational technology and AI with design, focusing on advanced machine learning, immersive virtual reality, and innovative interfaces to enhance the qualitative aspects of the design process. With a foundation in architecture and mathematics, I have developed predictive models for subjective dwelling comfort, user-friendly interfaces for sustainable building design, and game interactions across various fields. A significant part of my work involves understanding architects' decision-making processes to improve spatial design quality. Additionally, I am committed to fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and entrepreneurial initiatives, potentially establishing a platform to bring academic research to market.
In Progress
AI/ML Applications in Architecture
Attractiveness Prediction for Real Estate Floor Plans:
Our pioneering work, detailed in "Subjective Functionality and Comfort Prediction for Apartment Floor Plans and Its Application to Intuitive Online Property Search" in IEEE Transactions on Multimedia (TMM) 2022, introduced a novel machine-learning model to accurately predict subjective apartment features. We developed a dataset assessing residential floor plans on comfort, openness, and privacy, designed an algorithm for score prediction, and integrated this into a user-centric apartment search tool. A comprehensive crowdsourced usability study confirmed the system's enhanced user experience. In collaboration with the University of Tokyo, this project yielded a predictive model for apartment functionality and comfort, resulting in notable awards, a leading journal publication, and a patent filing.
Generative Design for Sustainable Architecture:
This research, detailed in "Sketch to Build: An Intuitive Design Platform for Sustainable Housing" in the Annual Modeling and Simulation Conference (ANNSIM) 2022, funded by the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program, facilitates an understanding of the relationship between design and performance, encouraging innovative, sustainable solutions that align with global standards like the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and empowers architects to integrate creative and qualitative aspects into their design processes.
Speculative Visions for Transformative Architecture:
As technology evolves, hypothetical scenarios such as car-free cities, autonomous drones, rideshares, and AI-driven new services prompt a reassessment of design research values. These scenarios challenge us to broaden our understanding of cultural dynamics in public spaces. My recent publications, including SIGGRAPH 2018 and 2022, detail a series of research on speculative visions inspired by technological convergence.
Attractiveness Prediction for Real Estate Floor Plans:
Our pioneering work, detailed in "Subjective Functionality and Comfort Prediction for Apartment Floor Plans and Its Application to Intuitive Online Property Search" in IEEE Transactions on Multimedia (TMM) 2022, introduced a novel machine-learning model to accurately predict subjective apartment features. We developed a dataset assessing residential floor plans on comfort, openness, and privacy, designed an algorithm for score prediction, and integrated this into a user-centric apartment search tool. A comprehensive crowdsourced usability study confirmed the system's enhanced user experience. In collaboration with the University of Tokyo, this project yielded a predictive model for apartment functionality and comfort, resulting in notable awards, a leading journal publication, and a patent filing.
Generative Design for Sustainable Architecture:
This research, detailed in "Sketch to Build: An Intuitive Design Platform for Sustainable Housing" in the Annual Modeling and Simulation Conference (ANNSIM) 2022, funded by the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program, facilitates an understanding of the relationship between design and performance, encouraging innovative, sustainable solutions that align with global standards like the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and empowers architects to integrate creative and qualitative aspects into their design processes.
Speculative Visions for Transformative Architecture:
As technology evolves, hypothetical scenarios such as car-free cities, autonomous drones, rideshares, and AI-driven new services prompt a reassessment of design research values. These scenarios challenge us to broaden our understanding of cultural dynamics in public spaces. My recent publications, including SIGGRAPH 2018 and 2022, detail a series of research on speculative visions inspired by technological convergence.
Conference Proceeding
“SIGGRAPH 2024 Immersive Pavilion: Props and Rocks: Passive Haptic Mixed Reality for Navigating Far-off Worlds”
ACM SIGGRAPH 2024, July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2024.
“Characterizing Residential Building Patterns in High-Density Cities Using Graph Convolutional Neural Networks”
International Conference for The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), April (2nd Quarter/Spring) 2024.
“REIMAGINING MUQARNAS: Exploring Generative Design for Innovative Patterns in Iranian-Islamic Architecture”
International Conference for The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), April (2nd Quarter/Spring) 2024.
“AI Tools to Synthesize Characteristics of Public Spaces: A case study for Jersey City”
Proceedings of the 41st Education and research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) Conference, September 2023.
“Spatial Analytics of Housing Prices with User-Generated POI Data: A Case Study in Shenzhen”
International Conference for The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), January (1st Quarter/Winter) 2023.
ACM SIGGRAPH 2024, July (3rd Quarter/Summer) 2024.
“Characterizing Residential Building Patterns in High-Density Cities Using Graph Convolutional Neural Networks”
International Conference for The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), April (2nd Quarter/Spring) 2024.
“REIMAGINING MUQARNAS: Exploring Generative Design for Innovative Patterns in Iranian-Islamic Architecture”
International Conference for The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), April (2nd Quarter/Spring) 2024.
“AI Tools to Synthesize Characteristics of Public Spaces: A case study for Jersey City”
Proceedings of the 41st Education and research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) Conference, September 2023.
“Spatial Analytics of Housing Prices with User-Generated POI Data: A Case Study in Shenzhen”
International Conference for The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), January (1st Quarter/Winter) 2023.
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Journal Article
Muxin Jia, Ang Liu, Taro Narahara. 2024. “The Integration of Dual Evaluation and Minimum Spanning Tree Clustering to Support Decision-Making in Territorial Spatial Planning.” Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16, no. 10 (May-2 2024), pp. 3928.
Taro Narahara, Toshihiko Yamasaki. 2023. “Subjective Functionality and Comfort Prediction for Apartment Floor Plans and Its Application to Intuitive Online Property Searches.” IEEE Transactions on Multimedia (TMM), vol. vol. 25, 2023, no. Print ISSN: 1520-9210 Electronic ISSN: 1941-0077, pp. pp. 6729-6742.
Taro Narahara. 2015. “Design Exploration through interactive prototypes using sensors and microcontrollers.” Computers & Graphics: An International Journal of Systems & Applications in Computer Graphics, , vol. 50, no. 1st edition, pp. 22-35.
Taro Narahara. 2010. “Designing for constant change: An adaptable growth model for architecture..” International Journal of Architectural Computing (IJAC), vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 30-40.
Taro Narahara, Toshihiko Yamasaki. 2023. “Subjective Functionality and Comfort Prediction for Apartment Floor Plans and Its Application to Intuitive Online Property Searches.” IEEE Transactions on Multimedia (TMM), vol. vol. 25, 2023, no. Print ISSN: 1520-9210 Electronic ISSN: 1941-0077, pp. pp. 6729-6742.
Taro Narahara. 2015. “Design Exploration through interactive prototypes using sensors and microcontrollers.” Computers & Graphics: An International Journal of Systems & Applications in Computer Graphics, , vol. 50, no. 1st edition, pp. 22-35.
Taro Narahara. 2010. “Designing for constant change: An adaptable growth model for architecture..” International Journal of Architectural Computing (IJAC), vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 30-40.
Chapter
Taro Narahara. 2015. “Architecture meets Gaming and Robotics: Creating Interactive Prototypes and Digital Simulations for Architects.” In Gabriela Celani, David M. Sperling, and Juarez M. S. Franco (Eds.), pp. 474 - 492. Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Science+Business Media, 2015.
Taro Narahara. 2013. “The Computer as a Tool for Creative Adaptation: Biologically Inspired Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design in Computation for Humanity—Information Technology to Advance Society .” In Justyna Zander and Pieter Mosterman (Eds.), pp. p69 - p94. Boca Raton, Florida, USA: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2013.
Taro Narahara. 2010. “Programming for civil engineer for VR and structural analysis.” In Natsuka Ota (Eds.), pp. p. 222 – 233. Tokyo, Japan: Nikkei Business Publications, Inc., 2010.
Taro Narahara. 2010. “The space ReActor: Walking a synthetic man through architectural space.” In S. Chen, S. Li, & J. Lobel (Eds.), Computational Constructs: Architectural Design, Logic, and Theory pp. pp. 71-83. , China: The China Architecture and Building Press, 2010.
Taro Narahara. 2013. “The Computer as a Tool for Creative Adaptation: Biologically Inspired Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design in Computation for Humanity—Information Technology to Advance Society .” In Justyna Zander and Pieter Mosterman (Eds.), pp. p69 - p94. Boca Raton, Florida, USA: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2013.
Taro Narahara. 2010. “Programming for civil engineer for VR and structural analysis.” In Natsuka Ota (Eds.), pp. p. 222 – 233. Tokyo, Japan: Nikkei Business Publications, Inc., 2010.
Taro Narahara. 2010. “The space ReActor: Walking a synthetic man through architectural space.” In S. Chen, S. Li, & J. Lobel (Eds.), Computational Constructs: Architectural Design, Logic, and Theory pp. pp. 71-83. , China: The China Architecture and Building Press, 2010.
Translation or Transcription
“Translation of a book, “Behavior, Security, Culture (BeSeCu). Human behaviour in emergencies and disasters: A cross-cultural investigation” by SCHMIDT, SILKE; GALEA, ED”
Forum8 Publishing co., ltd., November 2014.
Forum8 Publishing co., ltd., November 2014.
Professional
ACM SIGGRAPH 2025
Unified Jury, 2024
ACM Multimedia 2026, Interactive Art Chair (Scheduled)
Interactive Art Chair (Scheduled), 2024
CAADRIA2025 (The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia))
Editor, Conference Proceedings, 2024
Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ)
Reviewer, Journal Article, 2024
ACADIA (The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture)
Reviewer, Conference Paper, 2024
Japan Institute of Architects (JIA) the 46th Symposium on Computer Technology of Information, Systems and Applications
Reviewer, Conference Paper, 2024
Automation in Construction (Elsevier)
Reviewer, Journal Article, 2023
CAADRIA (The International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia)
Workshop Organizer, 2013
Unified Jury, 2024
ACM Multimedia 2026, Interactive Art Chair (Scheduled)
Interactive Art Chair (Scheduled), 2024
CAADRIA2025 (The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia))
Editor, Conference Proceedings, 2024
Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ)
Reviewer, Journal Article, 2024
ACADIA (The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture)
Reviewer, Conference Paper, 2024
Japan Institute of Architects (JIA) the 46th Symposium on Computer Technology of Information, Systems and Applications
Reviewer, Conference Paper, 2024
Automation in Construction (Elsevier)
Reviewer, Journal Article, 2023
CAADRIA (The International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia)
Workshop Organizer, 2013