NEW YORK (Kyodo) Acclaimed Japanese architect Tadao Ando will be awarded the 2002 Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects, the institute said.

Ando, 60, a self-taught architect who now teaches at the University of Tokyo, is best known in the United States for having designed the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in St. Louis, as well as the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

Previous recipients of the Gold Medal, the AIA's highest honor, include 20th century architectural giants Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and I.M. Pei.

The award ceremony is scheduled for March 1 in Washington D.C.