Remote Surveillance Trailer in Sunnyvale, CA

Treehouse Silicon Valley pays homage to pre-tech Sunnyvale with a playful design that celebrates the region’s agrarian roots

Words by: Will Speros + Stephanie Chen • Photos by Erin Kunkel, courtesy of Treehouse Silicon Valley

Starwood Hotels has unveiled Treehouse Hotels’ inaugural U.S. location in Sunnyvale, California.

With architecture from 10 Design and interiors by CRÈME in collaboration with Starwood’s in-house team, Treehouse Hotel Silicon Valley spans several repurposed existing structures and a new six-story building that was constructed off-site using modular methods to significantly reduce environmental impact and waste.

Drawing inspiration from the fruit farms and orchards that populated Sunnyvale prior to the tech firm boom, the hotel’s 111 guestrooms feature cozy natural materials, artisan-crafted furniture, and private outdoor spaces.

Paying further homage to the city’s agricultural heritage, the property’s landscaping is lush with citrus groves, gardens, preserved oaks, and newly planted native trees.

Guests enter the property through the Arrival Pavilion, a greenhouse-like structure clad in glass. In lieu of a traditional reception desk, guests are greeted by a sun-drenched garden room with café chairs, cozy lounge seating, and a vintage Volkswagen Beetle brimming with plants.

Green-drenched corridors—rich with rope detailing, wood paneling, and a custom mural series by artist Aquarela Sabol—lead to the rooms. At each doorway, custom birdhouses mark guestroom numbers, acting as playful, treehouse-inspired wayfinding elements.

Inside the rooms, earthy tones are punctuated by cheerful colors. Hideaway nooks and lounge spaces provide a sense of coziness, which is further accentuated by wood-paneled headboards, handmade patchwork quilts, and soft rugs. Accommodations also feature crate-style coffee tables, lounge chairs in a mushroom-patterned textile, and rustic concrete sinks.

This whimsical aesthetic extends throughout Treehouse Silicon Valley’s amenities, which include a restaurant, pool, and event spaces.

CRÈME also designed the onsite restaurant, Valley Goat from chef Stephanie Izard and Boka Restaurant Group. The restaurant plays on themes of garden sheds and open-air marketplaces, beginning with a host stand that resembles a toolshed workstation.

Inside, a fireplace lounge and stacked planter wall welcome guests to linger, while rattan and burlap pendants float above. The bar area features wood and chicken-wire glass shelving and chandeliers fashioned from vintage wheels and Edison bulbs. The main dining space, meanwhile, mixes curved and linear banquette clusters, along with mismatched wood chairs to emphasize the handcrafted aesthetic.

The open kitchen is viewable through a glass-tiled wall, while floating ceiling grids with dried florals bring nature into the volume of the space. An outdoor beer garden, anchored by a vintage beer truck and oversized lawn games, rounds out the experience.

The Sunnyvale property brings “the spirit of home and familiarity to the neighborhood,” says CRÈME principal Jun Aizaki. “The goal is for guests to experience the same feeling as when they are returning to their childhood home, with moments of nostalgia and wonder, adventure, and discovery.”

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Albertsons Cos. banner Safeway has revealed that it will close 12 grocery stores across Colorado, New Mexico and Nebraska as a result of a corporate decision to unify the company’s Intermountain and Denver divisions into a newly formed Mountain West division.

“This strategic consolidation is more than a structural change – it’s a growth accelerator,” an Albertsons Cos. spokesperson noted in a statement supplied to Progressive Grocer.

To help integrate the team structures and store networks of the two former divisions, Safeway will shutter 10 stores in Colorado, one in New Mexico and one in Nebraska. All affected locations will cease operations by Nov. 7.

“We continuously evaluate the performance of our stores, and occasionally, after long and careful deliberation, it becomes necessary to make the difficult decision to close certain locations,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “We are working to place affected associates in nearby stores wherever possible. Safeway has proudly served these communities for decades, and the decision to close these stores was not made lightly. With a focus on growth, these closures will enable us to continue investing in our store network and better align with evolving customer needs. Together, these changes position us to operate in new and innovative ways that foster customer loyalty and drive long-term success.”

The stores slated to close are as follows:

In response to the news, Kim Cordova, president of Denver-based UFCW Local 7, which represents 23,000 workers across Colorado and Wyoming, urged Safeway “to rethink this disastrous approach to shrinking its corporate footprint and, instead, invest in Colorado communities with new and improved stores.”

For its first quarter ended June 14, Albertsons Cos., Safeway’s parent company, delivered solid results, with identical-sales growth of 2.8%, adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 billion and adjusted earnings per share of 55 cents. Net sales and other revenue rose 2.5% to $24.88 billion, an increase driven by the 2.8% increase in identical sales, with 20% growth in pharmacy being the primary driver.

As of June 14, Albertsons Cos. operated 2,264 retail stores with 1,725 in-store pharmacies, 408 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities. The Boise, Idaho-based company operates stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under more than 22 well-known banners. Albertsons is No. 9 on The PG 100. PG also named Albertsons among its Retailers of the Century.

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Intuitive Surgical plans to lay off 331 people in California, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the state.

The layoffs are expected to take effect by Oct. 27, and will take place at a facility in Sunnyvale, California. In the WARN notice, Intuitive stated that the company “will cease operations for graveyard and weekend shifts for Ion Instruments & Accessories (I&A) production, as well as related logistics and quality operations activities in Sunnyvale. All roles supporting these shifts will be eliminated.”

The majority of the positions affected are for assembly technicians. California’s database classifies the layoffs as “manufacturing.”

“More specifically, as part of creating a global ‘hub model,’ we are permanently ending graveyard and weekend shift effective October 23 and 24, 2025, respectively, as well as transitioning our work model effective October 27, 2025,” Intuitive said in the WARN letter.

An Intuitive spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company is transitioning to a new shift schedule to allow its manufacturing teams to coordinate more efficiently.

“As part of this change, we have informed employees of planned adjustments ahead of their implementation,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “Our goal is to retain these employees in roles on the standard shift schedule, however, we understand that roles on the standard shift schedule may not be suitable for some of these employees and we are committed to assisting their transition to alternate employment.”

The cuts come as Intuitive Surgical has reported solid growth and a successful launch of its latest soft tissue robotic system, the da Vinci 5, which has convinced Wall Street that the new product will help the company maintain its dominance over the space despite the emergence of competing robots. In the first six months of the year, Intuitive reported revenue of $4.69 billion, representing 20% growth year over year.

The medtech industry has experienced tens of thousands of layoffs in recent years as companies grappled with macroeconomic factors. While not a major participant in the mass layoffs, Intuitive did cut 72 employees in North Carolina in 2023.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a statement from Intuitive Surgical.