The Geometry of Gentle Living
Bede House is a platinum-standard care home. Built across two floors, it offers 66 generously sized bedrooms and socially focused spaces, including a café, cinema, and salon. It rests naturally within the village grain, providing a dignified home for residents and a welcoming place for the wider community.
Overview
Commissioned by the Malhotra Group’s Prestwick Care portfolio, Bede House forms part of the company’s ongoing investment in high-quality long-term care. The £10 million development sits within the coastal village of Ryhope, where its context demanded sensitivity to scale and character. Surrounded by traditional terraces and mature greenery, the new home draws inspiration from its neighbors in form and material. Sitting on a gentle slope opposite the grade II* listed St Paul’s Church, the building was shaped by the conditions of its site.
These constraints informed a modest profile that arranges three residential wings around a sheltered courtyard. In addition, varied roof forms break down the building’s massing to complement the village grain. Each elevation responds to its immediate setting, whether facing the church, the street, or the gardens, with the architecture shifting subtly as you move around the building. Together, these gestures allow Bede House to belong naturally to its place, offering residents and visitors a calm, contemporary environment designed for comfort and care.
- Year 2022
- Location Sunderland
- Client Prestwick Care
- Project Sectors Residential
Design Approach
Bede House is organised around clear, connected routes that draw people naturally through the building, linking communal areas with quieter spaces for rest and familiarity. From the entrance, views open across shared rooms and towards the landscaped courtyard, which acts as a social and visual anchor. Daylight moves through the plan, carried by broad corridors that lead to lounges and dining rooms, creating a sense of openness and ease. Inside, the atmosphere feels domestic and calm, supported by a palette of warm materials and familiar spaces such as a café, cinema, and hairdressing salon.
Commissioned stained-glass artwork introduces gentle colour and changing light, adding moments of vibrancy within the soft, muted interior. The gardens continue this sense of wellbeing outdoors, with pathways that weave between greenhouse and allotment beds, water features, bird feeding stations, and seating areas arranged for conversation or quiet retreat. Every element, from layout to landscaping, is thoughtfully implemented to promote comfort and enrich the daily lives of residents.
“We wanted Bede House to sit naturally within Ryhope while offering the highest standard of care. The architecture balances a confident frontage with warm, generous interiors, creating a setting where residents can feel at home and part of the community around them.”
David Coundon
Director at SPACE Architects
Result
Since welcoming its first residents in 2022, Bede House has established itself as a care setting that combines thoughtful design with high standards of care. In 2025, an inspection by the Care Quality Commission awarded the home an Outstanding overall rating, recognising its strong community connections and carefully considered facilities. Every aspect of the setting, from the architecture and landscaped grounds to the calming interiors and daily rhythm of care, works in harmony to create an exceptional experience. SPACE is proud to have played a part in realising Bede House, where the architecture and landscape unite with the dedication of staff to create a setting in which residents and guests feel supported, fulfilled, and at home.
People
Independence, dignity and joy in everyday momentsFrom the earliest stages, the design team worked closely with care providers to understand how residents, families, and staff would use the building day to day.
“Bede House was about producing a scheme worthy of this beautiful site at the heart of Ryhope village opposite a grade two star listed church, which is a calm and pleasurable environment for residents, families and staff in which to live, visit and work.”
Carrina Gebhard
Associate Architect at SPACE Architects
That vision now lives through the people who bring the building to life. The home is led by a dedicated team whose approach centres on independence, dignity and joy in everyday moments.
Planet
A material palette inspired by its village contextThe building’s massing and material palette respond to the village context and landscape, with stepped roof forms and facades that reference nearby houses. By bedding the structure into the sloping topography, it reduces visual impact and improves thermal performance. Courtyards and gardens bring daylight and fresh air deep into the plan, and planting encourages biodiversity.
Place
Grounded within its historic surroundingsSitting between village and church, Bede House strengthens Ryhope’s social fabric. The entrance frames a clear view of the church, grounding the building within its historic surroundings, while the glazed café and courtyard create an open frontage that invites connection with the street. Inside, artwork reflecting local landmarks brings the character of Ryhope and the wider region into the heart of the building, offering residents a sense of familiarity and place.
“It’s very important to the Group that we have been able to create a specialist care facility of this standard in Ryhope and have the ability to provide such a high level of care.”
Bunty Malhotra
CEO of Malhotra Group PLC
Credits
- Design Team Carrina Gebhard, David Coundon
