Barbara Bestor

{{Short description|American architect}} {{Infobox person | name = Barbara Bestor | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1966 | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = Beats Electronics, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea | education = Harvard University Southern California Institute of Architecture | employer = | occupation = Architect | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = Tom Stern (divorced); Adam Silverman (divorced) | children = 2 | parents = | relatives = }} '''Barbara Bestor''' (born 1966) is an American architect based in Los Angeles, California. She is the principal of Bestor Architecture, founded in 1992.<ref name="latimes"/> Examples of her work include the Beats Electronics Headquarters in Culver City,<ref name=FastCoDesign>{{cite news|last1=Zeiger|first1=Mimi|title=Beats By Dre's Splashy New Headquarters|url=http://www.fastcodesign.com/3033358/innovation-by-design/beats-by-dres-splashy-new-headquarters-no-apple-influence-here|accessdate=3 March 2015|date=July 22, 2014}}</ref> Blackbirds, small lot housing in Los Angeles, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea in Los Angeles,<ref name=T>{{cite news|last1=Hodge|first1=Brooke|title=L.A. Interiors Bestor In Show|url=https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/la-interiors-bestor-in-show/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1|accessdate=3 March 2015|date=May 15, 2008}}</ref> the revitalization of Silvertop, originally designed by John Lautner<ref name=Docomomo>{{Cite web|url=https://www.docomomo-us.org/register/silvertop|title = Silvertop}}</ref> and the Toro Canyon House in Santa Barbara.<ref name="C Magazine">{{cite news|last1=Lennon|first1=Christine|title=Grand Canyon|url=http://magazinec.com/decor/grand-canyon|accessdate=3 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325222855/http://magazinec.com/decor/grand-canyon|archive-date=25 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017 she was elected to the AIA's College of Fellows.<ref name="aka.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aia.org/college-of-fellows?query=&sortDirection=desc&sortField=investiture_year|title = College of Fellows - AIA}}</ref>

==Early life== Barbara Bestor grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her father was an anthropologist and her mother was a college administrator.<ref name="latimes">Emily Young, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-14-lv-bestor14-story.html Building a Name for Herself], ''The Los Angeles Times'', March 14, 2002</ref><ref name="nytimes">Kimberly Stevens, [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/20/garden/house-proud-a-simple-playhouse-at-cut-corners.html House Proud: A Simple Playhouse At Cut Corners], ''The New York Times'', March 20, 2003</ref> 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.<ref name="latimes"/><ref name="nytimes"/><ref name="woodbury">{{Cite web |url=http://architecture.woodbury.edu/member/barbara-bestor/ |title=Woodbury University School of Architecture: Faculty webpage |access-date=2014-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804015831/http://architecture.woodbury.edu/member/barbara-bestor/ |archive-date=2016-08-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> She then received a master's degree in architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles in 1992.<ref name="latimes"/><ref name="woodbury"/><ref name="sciarc">[http://www.sciarc.edu/portal/alumni/class_notes/fall_2011/index.html Southern California Institute of Architecture: Alumni] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209052745/http://www.sciarc.edu/portal/alumni/class_notes/fall_2011/index.html |date=December 9, 2014 }}</ref>

==Career== Bestor began her architectural practice in Los Angeles in 1992.<ref name="latimes"/> In her early career, she renovated many private residences in the Los Angeles area.<ref name="latimes"/> She also designed the Actors' Gang theater in Hollywood with fellow architect Norman Millar.<ref name="latimes"/> In 2001, she taught architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.<ref name="latimes"/> She returned to Los Angeles a year later, in 2002.<ref name="latimes"/> She has taught architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles.<ref name="theagencyre">[http://www.theagencyre.com/2014/07/conversation-architect-barbara-bestor/ A Conversation With Architect Barbara Bestor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208231807/http://www.theagencyre.com/2014/07/conversation-architect-barbara-bestor/ |date=2014-12-08 }}, TheAgencyRE, July 11, 2014</ref>

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.<ref name="woodbury"/><ref name="ted">[http://www.tedxolympicblvdwomen.com/speakers/ TED: OlympicBoulvdWomen: Speakers & Performers] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210221141/http://www.tedxolympicblvdwomen.com/speakers/ |date=December 10, 2014 }}</ref> She was the founding Chair of the Graduate program.<ref name="woodbury"/><ref name="ted"/> In 2014, with Catherine Gudis, Thomas Kracauer, and Shannon Starkey, she curated an exhibition about the environmental graphic designer Deborah Sussman at Woodbury.<ref name="metropolis">Christopher Hawthorne, [http://www.metropolismag.com/March-2014/She-Loves-LA/ She Loves L.A.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208132259/http://www.metropolismag.com/March-2014/She-Loves-LA/ |date=2014-12-08 }}, ''Metropolis Magazine'', March 2014</ref> She has been a TEDx speaker.<ref name="ted"/> 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.<ref name="metropolis 2">[http://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/lina-bo-bardi-albert-frey-palm-springs/ The Many Surprising Parallels Between the Architecture of Lina Bo Bardi and Albert Frey], Metropolis, 14 September 2017</ref>

Bestor has designed private residences in Echo Park, Pacific Palisades, Mount Washington, Silverlake, Los Feliz, Topanga Canyon, and Santa Barbara.<ref name="latimes"/><ref name="theagencyre"/><ref>Lawren Howell, [http://www.vogue.com/871494/vd-what-makes-mona-moore-the-coolest-shoe-store-in-los-angeles/ What Makes Mona Moore the Coolest Shoe Store in Los Angeles], ''Vogue'', November 4, 2009</ref><ref>Alison Cavatore, [http://hauteliving.com/2012/08/barbara-bestor-designed-property-listed-for-3-25-million/312068/#slide-9 Barbara Bestor-Designed Property Listed for $3.25 Million], ''Haute Living'', August 31, 2012</ref> She has also designed stores and restaurants in Los Angeles, New York City, and Tokyo.<ref name="latimes"/><ref name="theagencyre"/><ref name="erinfeher">Erin Feher, [http://www.californiahomedesign.com/trending/2013/12/12/ladies-de-lab-dig-deep-la-design-scene Ladies of de LaB Dig Deep Into the LA Design Scene], ''California Home Design'', 12/12/13</ref> 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.<ref name="sciarc"/> She was also nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for the same restaurant that year.<ref name="sciarc"/> The Floating Bungalow house in Venice, CA was featured in MOCA's 2013 survey of contemporary Los Angeles architecture.<ref name="Hawthorne LA Times">{{cite news|last1=Hawthorne|first1=Christopher|title=Review: MOCA's revamped architecture show a model of insularity|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-xpm-2013-jun-29-la-et-cm-moca-architecture-show-20130630-story.html|access-date=3 March 2015|date=June 29, 2013}}</ref> In 2015, the Beats By Dre Headquarters was recognized with a National AIA Honor Award for Interior Architecture.<ref name=Architect>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Sara|title=Institute Honor Awards: Interior Architecture|url=http://www.architectmagazine.com/awards/2015-aia-honor-awards-for-interior-architecture_o.aspx|accessdate=3 March 2015|issue=January 9, 2015}}</ref> In 2017 two new projects opened, the Ashes & Diamonds Winery and Event Center <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sf.eater.com/2017/8/16/16011304/ashes-diamonds-kashi-khaledi-napa-winery-opening|title = New Winery Hopes to Make Old School Wine Cool Again with a Modern Tasting Room|date = 16 August 2017}}</ref> and the Silverlake Conservatory of Music.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/arts/flea-takes-us-on-a-tour-of-the-new-silverlake-conservatory-of-music-video-7552038|title = Flea Takes Us on a Tour of the New Silverlake Conservatory of Music (VIDEO)| work=L.A. Weekly |date = 28 October 2016 | last1=Holderness | first1=Peter }}</ref> Since the opening of Blackbirds <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/blackbirds-barbara-bestors-housing-experiment-lands-in-echo-park|title = Blackbirds: Barbara Bestor's Housing Experiment Lands in Echo Park|date = 21 July 2015}}</ref> Bestor has explored a variety of housing solutions for Los Angeles, ultimately receiving second place in the city's Low Rise competition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://commonedge.org/a-less-atomized-more-communitarian-los-angeles-low-rise-winners-point-the-way/|title = A Less Atomized, More Communitarian Los Angeles? Low-Rise Winners Point the Way|date = 16 May 2021}}</ref>

==Personal life== She has two daughters from a previous marriage.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/fashion/weddings/aahs-for-the-bride-and-oohs-for-the-house.html?_r=0|title = Aahs for the Bride and Oohs for the House|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 10 April 2015|last1 = Jacobs|first1 = Alexandra}}</ref>

==Bibliography== *Barbara Bestor. ''Bohemian Modern: Living in Silver Lake''. New York City: HarperCollins. 2006. 272 pages.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NkVYhcr6WqkC Google Books]</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.bestorarchitecture.com/ Bestor Architecture]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bestor, Barbara}} Category:Living people Category:Architects from Cambridge, Massachusetts Category:Architects from Los Angeles Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Southern California Institute of Architecture alumni Category:UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture faculty Category:Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty Category:Woodbury University faculty Category:1966 births Category:American women architects Category:Architects from California Category:American women academics Category:21st-century American women