In the future, billboards might do double duty as what?

Billboard advertisements in cities are expensive to construct and maintain, and their renting is, according to Project Gregory, a costly venture. 

But in September 2013, the project developed a concept to make those billboards a little more worthwhile -- by having them do double-duty as a homeless shelter. And the idea may come to fruition in 2015. 

Project Gregory is the result of a group of people studying architecture, art, design, conceptualism, advertisement and the problem of people without homes -- this group, according to its website, was able to synchronize all mentioned segments and create minimalistic object suitable for accommodation. 

The project, according to its website, brings optimization "to the construction of billboard structures in a way that the insides of these, after the extension, could be turned into a living space. Such an object would need just a minimal maintenance cost, which could be partially paid through the rental of its advert space."

If DesignDevelop, the company behind Project Gregory, can raise enough funds, it says it will build the first on-grid prototype in spring 2015. This, according to Gizmag, will be used for practical testing and to refine the design. A subsequent run of 10 shelters is planned for summer 2015.

Care to contribute to the cause? Visit Project Gregory's Kickstarter page.