{"id":389692,"date":"2026-01-25T12:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T12:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/389692\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T12:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T12:40:10","slug":"australian-sheds-inform-compact-mobile-cabin-by-hayley-pryor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/389692\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian sheds inform compact mobile cabin by Hayley Pryor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Architect Hayley Pryor has created The Oculus, a tiny moveable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/cabins\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cabin<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/byron-bay\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Byron Bay<\/a> that was designed to resemble a typical Australian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/sheds\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">shed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Designed to be road-legal and relocatable, the 21-square-metre dwelling was created by Pryor in collaboration with local builder Chris King.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2289868 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-oculus-hayley-pryor-cabin-movable-architecture-australia_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x609.jpg\" alt=\"Shed-like cabin\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1689\"  \/>Hayley Pryor has designed a mobile cabin<\/p>\n<p>Intended to meet a variety of needs, from a compact standalone home or holiday retreat to a garden studio, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hayleypryor.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pryor<\/a> modelled The Oculus&#8217;s appearance on that of a typical Australian shed, pairing a timber exterior with a finely corrugated metal roof.<\/p>\n<p>At the apex of this roof is The Oculus&#8217;s namesake \u2013 a large central skylight that both pulls light into the interior and can be opened to create a stack ventilation effect.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2289872 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-oculus-hayley-pryor-cabin-movable-architecture-australia_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x1193.jpg\" alt=\"The Oculus by Hayley Pryor\" width=\"1688\" height=\"2364\"  \/>It is intended to evoke Australian sheds<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Drawing on the familiarity of the Australian shed and reinterpreting it through form, light and ventilation, the design results in a flexible retreat for minimal living,&#8221; Pryor told Dezeen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Whilst moveable and relocatable, The Oculus was designed with orientation in mind to allow for passive design strategies \u2013 cross and stack ventilation, operable windows, and removable eaves \u2013 to manage heat naturally,&#8221; she added.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The elevated opening defines the architectural identity of the project while performing multiple roles: bringing light into the space, facilitating natural ventilation, framing views of the sky, and acting as a passive climate-control device.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2289871 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-oculus-hayley-pryor-cabin-movable-architecture-australia_dezeen_2364_col_4-852x1065.jpg\" alt=\"Wooden cabin\" width=\"1891\" height=\"2364\"  \/>It has a timber exterior and a corrugated metal roof<\/p>\n<p>The Oculus is the first made-to-order model to be offered by local builder King&#8217;s mobile home company, Retreat House.<\/p>\n<p>To maximise the efficiency of its interior, built-in furniture helps to demarcate the sleeping, living, dining and kitchen zones, with a daybed, benches and counters also providing storage.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/01\/16\/maruan-attia-cocoon-freelancer-mobile-home\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"191\" height=\"191\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/maruan-attia-mobile-home-191x191.jpg\" class=\"excludeLightbox wp-post-image\" alt=\"Mobile home resembling a cabin\" decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"  \/><\/p>\n<p> Maru\u00e1n Attia creates cabin-like mobile home from moon wood\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>At one end, a sliding door leads into the cabin&#8217;s bathroom, which also integrates a storage area that can be accessed from the outside.<\/p>\n<p>Large plywood shutters allow for further natural ventilation, while at the cabin&#8217;s front, a large sliding glass door opens the living space onto a terrace.<\/p>\n<p>This terrace is sheltered by the large metal eaves of the roof, which slide into custom-welded brackets when The Oculus is being transported via road.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2289874 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-oculus-hayley-pryor-cabin-movable-architecture-australia_dezeen_2364_col_7-852x1193.jpg\" alt=\"The Oculus by Hayley Pryor\" width=\"1688\" height=\"2364\"  \/>The interior is lined with plywood<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Locally sourced hardwood timbers and corrugated sheeting provide durability and familiarity, while refined plywood interiors fold from the walls into joinery, creating a cohesive, unified interior,&#8221; Pryor said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Together, these materials balance robustness, warmth and simplicity, reinforcing the project\u2019s modest and functional character,&#8221; she added.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2289873 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-oculus-hayley-pryor-cabin-movable-architecture-australia_dezeen_2364_col_6-852x852.jpg\" alt=\"Plywood shutters\" width=\"2364\" height=\"2364\"  \/>Large plywood shutters allow for natural ventilation<\/p>\n<p>Other mobile cabins recently featured on Dezeen include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/01\/16\/maruan-attia-cocoon-freelancer-mobile-home\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cocoon Freelancer by Maru\u00e1n Attia,<\/a> which was designed to fit on the back of a flatbed truck, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2022\/08\/11\/tigin-tiny-homes-common-knowledge-hemp-cladding\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a hemp-clad micro home<\/a> created by a social enterprise to offer a way to &#8220;escape the rent trap&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The photography is by Tim Clark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Architect Hayley Pryor has created The Oculus, a tiny moveable cabin in Byron Bay that was designed to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389693,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,428,40996,8432,1120,96,92039,40339,40340,56,54,55,43430],"class_list":{"0":"post-389692","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-byron-bay","13":"tag-cabins","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-mobile-architecture","17":"tag-sectionall","18":"tag-sectionarchitecture","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom","21":"tag-unitedkingdom","22":"tag-wooden-architecture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}