Barbara Bestor (born 1966) is an American architect based in Los Angeles, California. She is the principal of Bestor Architecture, founded in 1992.[1] Examples of her work include the Beats Electronics Headquarters in Culver City,[2] Blackbirds, small lot housing in Los Angeles, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea in Los Angeles,[3] the revitalization of Silvertop, originally designed by John Lautner[4] and the Toro Canyon House in Santa Barbara.[5] In 2017 she was elected to the AIA's College of Fellows.[6]
Barbara Bestor | |
---|---|
Born | 1966 |
Education | Harvard University Southern California Institute of Architecture |
Occupation | Architect |
Known for | Beats Electronics, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea |
Spouse(s) | Tom Stern (divorced); Adam Silverman (divorced) |
Children | 2 |
Barbara Bestor grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her father was an anthropologist and her mother was a college administrator.[1][7] She interned for Cambridge Seven Associates through college, with a study-abroad year at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, eventually graduating from Harvard University in 1987.[1][7][8] She then received a master's degree in architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles in 1992.[1][8][9]
Bestor began her architectural practice in Los Angeles in 1992.[1] In her early career, she renovated many private residences in the Los Angeles area.[1] She also designed the Actors' Gang theater in Hollywood with fellow architect Norman Millar.[1] In 2001, she taught architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.[1] She returned to Los Angeles a year later, in 2002.[1] She has taught architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles.[10]
Bestor has taught at the Woodbury University School of Architecture in Burbank, California, where she is also the executive director of the Julius Shulman Institute.[8][11] She was the founding Chair of the Graduate program.[8][11] In 2014, with Catherine Gudis, Thomas Kracauer, and Shannon Starkey, she curated an exhibition about the environmental graphic designer Deborah Sussman at Woodbury.[12] She has been a TEDx speaker.[11] In 2017 the exhibition Albert Frey and Lina Bo Bardi: A Search for Living Architecture, designed by Bestor Architecture, opened at the Palm Springs Art Museum.[13]
Bestor has designed private residences in Echo Park, Pacific Palisades, Mount Washington, Silverlake, Los Feliz, Topanga Canyon, and Santa Barbara.[1][10][14][15] She has also designed stores and restaurants in Los Angeles, New York City, and Tokyo.[1][10][16] In 2011, she was the recipient of the LA Restaurant Design Award from the American Institute of Architects for her design of the Pitfire Pizza in LA.[9] She was also nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for the same restaurant that year.[9] The Floating Bungalow house in Venice, CA was featured in MOCA's 2013 survey of contemporary Los Angeles architecture.[17] In 2015, the Beats By Dre Headquarters was recognized with a National AIA Honor Award for Interior Architecture.[18] In 2017 two new projects opened, the Ashes & Diamonds Winery and Event Center [19] and the Silverlake Conservatory of Music.[20] Since the opening of Blackbirds [21] Bestor has explored a variety of housing solutions for Los Angeles, ultimately receiving second place in the city's Low Rise competition.[22]
She has two daughters from a previous marriage.[23]