Rolex Mentor Protégé

Following a worldwide search for the most outstanding young talents in architecture, Rolex has announced the finalists for a year-long mentorship with renowned Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima.

Sejima, co-founder with Ryue Nishizawa of the architectural practice SANAA, is one of seven master artists who is being paired with an emerging talent for the 2012-2013 cycle of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. The other mentors are Margaret Atwood (literature), Lin Hwai-min (dance), Walter Murch (film), Gilberto Gil (music), Patrice Chéreau (theatre) and William Kentridge (visual arts).

Chosen by an international panel of experts, the three architecture finalists will be interviewed by Sejima, who will select one of them as her protégé for a year of creative collaboration. The protégé will be announced in November.

The finalists are:

— Frida Escobedo, 32, is the acting director of a small architecture firm, Frida Escobedo Studio, in Mexico City, where she is currently working on multiple projects for the National Council of Arts (CONACULTA). She is also a member of the Domus Mexico Editiorial Board and teaches at the Universidad Anahuac.

— Camilo Restrepo Ochoa, is a 38 year-old Colombian architect. His projects involve curating, public competitions, private commissions and research in territorial and urban issues. He has a Master in Urbanism, architecture and urban culture from the Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona CCCB, Universidad Politecnica de Catalunya UPC, in Barcelona, Spain.

— Yang Zhao, 32, started an architectural practice, Zhaoyang Studio, in 2007. His current projects include working on two buildings in the rural area of Yunnan Province, China. He has a master in Architecture with distinction from the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.