SB Architects designs first Treehouse Hotel in the US

SH Hotels & Resorts, the sustainable brand management company founded by Starwood Capital Group Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht, has announced that the first Treehouse Hotel in the US will open its doors in late 2023 in Sunnyvale, California.

The 254-key property will draw design inspiration from the rich cultural heritage of the region as well as Silicon Valley’s pre-war elements, from the fruit orchards that grew there to its agrarian look and feel. Developed in collaboration with SH Hotels & Resorts, Crème (interior design) and Rios (landscape architect), the site-specific design by SB Architects is grounded in the size, scale and pedestrian nature that one might expect in a Napa Valley retreat.

The architects will therefore repurpose several existing structures and elevate a new six-storey building constructed off-site using modular methods that reduce environmental impact and waste. The majority of its rooms, including 21 suites, provide private outdoor spaces from ground floor patios to balconies and terraces on the upper floors. Interiors, including soft sofas built into rough-hewn wooden bookcases, farm table distressed wooden desks and wood ceiling beams, colourful pillows and quirky quilts, collectively convey the childlike wonder of taking refuge in a figurative treehouse, looking down at the real world below.

Trees felled in construction are reclaimed and crafted by local artists into socially conscious, nature-themed sculptures fashioned onsite. From hand-crafted accents, secret nooks, playful angles, hammocks and hideaways and surprisingly placed lookouts, every element of the adaptive reuse project deliberately blurs the boundaries between inside and out.

Amenities have been crafted to bring the adventurous spirit of the Treehouse brand to life, from a casual café with indoor and outdoor seating, a garden offering games and a beer garden to a courtyard pool complete with cabanas, hot tub, pizza oven and a fitness facility. Three meeting rooms inside the hotel complement an event space crafted from a classic tilt-up rustic barn, complete with an outdoor pre-function space flowing into a lawn that can be tented to accommodate increased capacity.

“Sunnyvale is the epicentre of the bold ideas, disruptive technology, imagination and innovation that make Silicon Valley an icon and inspiration for the world,” says Sternlicht. “Every inch of this playful property, from mismatched materials to secret nooks and unexpected artwork, creatively combines the energy and intensity of Silicon Valley’s high-tech culture with the simpler, older, more natural charms of the Santa Clara Valley’s pre-Internet era.”