Kengo Kuma was given a tour of the site where construction of the museum's curved inner walls is underway.
The architect said he was confident the museum would be completed on schedule at the end of 2017 and open in the summer of the following year.
It will take the remainder of 2016 to take the building up to roof height.
Mr Kuma said:  I am very happy to see the progress of the construction.
"The level of construction is very high and beautiful - it is not an easy construction because the detail is unique.
"I can feel the scale of the spaces and the scale is as I expected."
Key milestones in the first year of work included the completion of a coffer dam which enabled construction of part of the building that will sit out over the River Tay.
This year's programme involves construction of the core inner walls, stairwell and lift cores and the outer double curvature walls of the building.
Representatives from Dundee City Council and BAM Construction Ltd accompanied Kengo Kuma on the tour of the site.
Dundee Lord Provost Bob Duncan said: "People can see from the outside that something really special is beginning to take shape on this site.
"I am delighted that Kengo Kuma can see how much has been achieved here in the space of a year.
"We are delighted with the attention that this project is focusing on our city."
Pre-cast panels will be installed in 2017 to the exterior to give the building its unique slatted, multi-layered appearance.
BAM's construction manager Malcolm Boyd said: "We are relishing meeting the unique technical and construction challenges and working with all our partners to deliver a building that will inspire Dundonians and attract worldwide recognition ."

The unseeded Serb won 4-6 6-3 6-4 against the seventh seed to cause the first major upset of the tournament.
Konta had been hoping to improve on previous semi-final appearances at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
"It's definitely not an easy defeat to take - it was a close match," Konta told BBC Radio 5 live.
"It went to three sets and over two hours. I try to keep a very good perspective on how this sport works and that is there are no easy matches.
"First rounds are always tricky and difficult, regardless of the tournament but I guess especially in Slams, so I think that's for everybody, not just me.
"My opponent dealt with it and I competed until the very last ball, so I can't be too harsh on myself in that sense, but I've definitely got a lot to improve on, which is also a positive thing."
Konta, 26, has enjoyed another terrific year, cementing her place inside the top 10, winning one of the biggest titles in the sport in Miami, and reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and semi-finals at Wimbledon.
There was every reason to believe that she would reach similar heights at Flushing Meadows, on her favourite surface of hard courts, but she produced an erratic performance on day one.
After easing into a 4-1 lead, the Briton's serve deserted her and hovered around the 40% mark, allowing Krunic to take the initiative.
"Credit needs to be given where it's due and that's to how my opponent played," said Konta, who finished the match with 42 unforced errors.
"I felt that she raised her level of tennis consistently throughout the match, whereas I struggled to maintain that and fluctuated a little bit more.
"That's credit to her for playing as freely as she did."
Konta had arrived in New York with an outside chance of taking the world number one ranking, but she is now looking the other way and hanging on to a place in the top eight.
That would give her a place in the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time, after she narrowly missed out in 2016.
"The goal is to stay healthy, for one, and play a full season, but also to keep trying to get better.
"I think, if anything, today gives me a great opportunity to do just that, and I've got still a few tournaments left in the season, and if Singapore is in the cards for me, then I will take it and be very grateful.
"If not, I will take what comes my way."
The architect of Dundee's V&A museum said he was "very happy" with its progress one year after the £80.1m construction project began.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Britain's Johanna Konta said it was "tough to take" as she headed home from the US Open after just one day following defeat by Aleksandra Krunic.