Despite being brought under the Apple umbrella in May by a $3B acquisition, the Culver City, Calif., headquarters of Beats Electronics couldn't be further from the sleek minimalism of all things Apple. The 105,000-square-foot space is also, according to L.A.-based architect Barbara Bestor, a self-conscious effort to push back against the "adolescent-like interior that is prevalent in Silicon Valley." As the founder of Bestor Architecture explained to Dezeen, the newly completed space emerged from an attempt to avoid "the 'fun and games' aesthetic that has been recently spoofed on HBO," and by this point pretty much self-spoofed wherever it pops up. Which doesn't mean the space can't be as bright and showy as a pair of Beats by Dre headphones.
"I think office environments, Silicon Valley or not, can often be quite generic or overly branded and we really wanted to make a campus that felt diverse spatially," continues Bestor. That diversity is centered around two double-heigh atriums, one with bright blue walls inset with interior windows, the other painted white and lined on one side with mirror panels. There's also tons of Scandinavian furniture, and a blown-up aerial photograph of L.A. by Iwan Baan covering one wall, which can be viewed in full over at Dezeen.
· Bestor Architecture's Beats by Dre headquarters eschews Apple's minimal palette [Dezeen]
· All Barbara Bestor coverage [Curbed LA]
· All Office Spaces posts [Curbed National]
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