wow!! that is wicked cool!! I'd live there!!

i think the idea of sticking low-income people in a giant ad that pushes products they can't buy is insulting and bizarre. this made me feel sad.

Well, I don't think the billboards are going anywhere -- why not make them functional beyond being an advertising space? I think it's great.

I think affordable housing has to be subsidised by someone. The government can't afford it so why not take the money from big business? I've been homeless & I would have been glad to find anywhere to live at all. A unique dwelling with some artistic flair, easy to run & cheap to maintain sounds like a superb idea to me!

Great post!

Very Interesting, conflicted on this idea!

Sounds Crazy!!! Love it ;)

I think this is a really cool idea!

Just goes to show you have to generate a host of marginal ideas to hit on a great one. As a thought experiment, does it merit this much signage yet? Throw a few more up and see what sticks to the billboard top ten. I'd rather aim my imagination at re-purposing gated communities, hedge fund havens, reclaimed hydro-electric watersheds. I prefer to take my cues from the creative ways 99%ers have already made the most of the little we're left.

Interesting idea and concept~ Living on the farm with wide open spaces we are not as aware of the ever changing urban scene. Thanks for your article.

from a practical point of view, I really like this idea. however, I wouldn't turn the billboards that are right beside the highway into residences b/c of the pollution & noise.

Very interesting concept.

Georgeous!

Interesting concept! Thanks for sharing your idea :)

A way to make those living in subsidized housing even more stigmatized and ostracized. Many billboards here in Nevada (as the top photo shows) are miles from town. Would they meet the disability accessibility standards? Love to see an elevator in a trailer in a billboard...egads.

I would love to live in a billboard but it would make letting the dogs outside problematic :P

a billboard is a billboard....a big board that is huge and intrusive. Hey, I've got an idea...why don't we just spend the money and build safe homes for people, rent them at a price they can afford, or sell them at a price they can afford.......We've learned from the past attempts to house the needy in a safe environment. I'll bet we can do it again! Without the silly gimmicks.

Many countries don't allow billboards, because they are an eye-sore and interfere with nature. When I moved to this country, I remember feeling almost claustrophobic, when driving on the freeway, where these giant ugly constructions, crowd your sight... If we can't lose them altogether, we should definitely find better purposes for them! :)

i love that idea. just looking at that billboard makes me feel more relaxed :)

Interesting post.

what a wonderful idea. i wish i had taken that lovely picture!!!

It is good that some people are thinking about the problem and coming out with ideas. Better than just sit there and do nothing.

Not liking billboards is a "knee jerk" response. They serve a purpose in the business community as well as providing community service messages. The images are informative, often humorous and beautifully creative. If you want to see a blight on the horizon just check out some wind farms.

These are an amazing display of design and engineering. You need to click on the link she provides at the beginning of the 2nd paragraph to appreciate these since the photos in the article are not the billboard houses. Wow! http://www.archdaily.com/201675/billboard-house-apostrophys/

If I lived in a billboard house, I'd definitely make sure I had control over what kind advertisements were printed on it. Otherwise it would feel like I'd sold my soul (remember a few years back when there was controversy about paying people to tattoo company logos on their foreheads?)...

HouseOfMoss I think you just said it. No matter how much you cover it up, add lace to hide it, call it a home , whatever....it is what it is.

is there a link to the design? quite and interesting idea but I agree with VeraVague, it does seem a little sad.

thenakedbird, and any others who want to see the design before they comment, cut and paste: http://www.archdaily.com/201675/billboard-house-apostrophys or click on the blue type at the top of the 2nd paragraph of her article.

Interesting!

Sounds a bit qookie to me.

Very strange!

What a great idea! But, you'd have to be in shape to handle the stairs.

Interesting idea & creation. Thank you for sharing.

Some billboards are funny, others not so much. I like the idea of putting landscapes on them. Nothing beats natural beauty!

Great use of space, I'm all about maximizing the use of things!

Crazy...

It's a interesting idea. But you would have to wonder how much traffic and noise you would have to contend with.

Awesome article thank you! Ok I hate to admit it but I love billboards...true they kinda stink up the landscape, but I love advertising, I like to pick it apart and compare it to others, I love the photography, I love the laughs I often get, especially when they are clever! AI think turning them into low income housing is awesome! I don't agree that the person who lives there would be upset over whether or not they can afford the product being advertised...when you cant afford housing, you are grateful that you aren't in the street, that you arent paying an arm and leg, and that your family is safe. More often than not low income families are worried about feeding their kids, I can guarantee they are not staring at billboards and saying gee I wish I had that bracelet...because more than likely they would sell it anyway to put bread on the table if they did have it. I know I have and have. The one thing I am curious about though, is how much noise they make, and would you be able to sleep at night. I know the ones that are electronic and change advertisements like blinds make quite a bit of noise... I can hear them on the ground and these things are pretty high up. And then of course my next question would be, when the truck packs up with the billboard on it, does that mean the family moves with it? Or are they out of a home again...Regardless very interesting article thank you!

Hmm.. interesting.

Very interesting...~KK~

the idea sound like it has potential..

What a load of hoey. I love how they try to sell living in an environmental that is over exposed to the elements as a room with a view. As far as being able to put solar panels on them. You can put solar panels on any existing building. Billboards are place on busy streets and next too highways. Is that where we want people to live?  Thats going to take a few extra survival skills. How about we get affordable housing for people that doesnt stick an advert on your butt.

This is an interesting, but ultimately impractical idea. Many billboards are no where close to town, but are rather right at the edge of dangerous and pollutant-saturated highways. Rather than helping a person of low-income, this creates more problems. Now, low-income resident A has to find a means of transportation to get from the side of the interstate to the day job. The other problem is that now a billboard wouldn't just require enough electricity to light it, it would require a plumbing system and possibly heating (depending on location). Sure, they are blights to the skyline, but think about where they are always located: no where you actually want to live. It's a backhanded favor to a low-income person to offer them a home in a place potentially dangerous due to location or pollution...or both.

Interesting concept!

speaking of throwing things out the window, where are the windows?

I'm sure it's possible to create a billboard that is also a decent home - insulate it, glaze it, fit it with electricity, water and communication supplies. make it safe and and ensure it meets building regulations. Oh yes, and make it mobile. And I can see the appeal of getting the advertisers to subsidise this creation with their images. But really I'm pretty sure it is cheaper and easier to build actual houses that are houses and billboards that are billboards. And I'm just not sure that the advertising revenue would make up for living in sucky billboard location house that is either in the middle of nowhere on a busy motorway or on some city outskirts slip road. Sounds like a nice idea of multi-function, but impractical and rather isolating.

This is going nowhere fast!

i wanna live there!

For some reason this made me think of Bladerunner, a crowded city with tall skyscrapers flashing advertisements along with wee dirigibles floating around showing Japanese adverts with singing. Checked the link and think it's a great idea for those who won't mind it.

I think I would have loved to live in a bill board, why not I lived in a loft that had a shared bathroom with every different type of person you could imagine using the same toilet and shower. Sometimes you do what you have to do and make the best of it. Funky can be FUNky

Awesome concept! I'd love to try living in a billboard! :)

Interesting idea.

Really interesting concept!

I love this amazing Idea! We should think of art and photography as beautiful yet simple ways of both expressing ourselves, and also of gaining more beauty in our lives. Rembrantrocks

Very Cool!

Fascinating.

I live in a billboard for a couple of months. Great views and the price was right but it was kinda drafty.

Interesting Post

Very cool idea.

This is awesome! I want one! haha :)

Has anyone considered that this design is created in Bangkok, Thailand? There are billboards everywhere not just on the side of highways, there is pollution and noise everywhere that cannot be avoided and housing is cramped and crowded. Billboard housing seems like a great solution to a need for affordable, entry level housing when there is a lack of land and space to build it anywhere else. It also raises housing up out of direct flood paths.

VeraVague says: i think the idea of sticking low-income people in a giant ad that pushes products they can't buy is insulting and bizarre. this made me feel sad. -------- agreed. i don't like the idea one bit.

Considering the number of low-income highrises located right next to freeways and other major roads, I don't know if this would be that much more hazardous in terms of pollution. In the US at least, there would definitely be accessibility issues, since a lot of our billboards are elevated. But also, who would be in control of the ads? Would the people living in the home control or at least have veto power for what went on the sides of their houses? I wouldn't want an ad for a political candidate or issue on my house that I didn't agree with.

(Not to say that the pollution isn't a bad thing in the first place. It is, and it's just one more way in which we shaft the poor in this country.)

Excellent! Very original!

I love the idea putting landscapes, or other really nice views of the world (because it is much bigger than your town or country:) , when your start looking further your street - you provide an opportunity for birth to new ideas in your life!!!

Love it!

Interesting, but really don't see anything good about it.

Interesting article. Right now in Philadelphia, there is an installation using billboards as the medium to present a collection of photographs by Zoe Strauss sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Here is the link: http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/745.html

not something I would've ever thought of in a million years... but hmmm...

interesting idea!

not sure about living in one. but they should ALL have solar pannels and small wind turbines! they are in ideal locations and we have got to make more of our natural resources!!!!!!

I love the idea! I am all about small living spaces and have found a new love for unique designs as well. Great idea!

I think this is a brilliant idea. I live out in Farmville, Middle of Nowhere, USA, on the old national road. Once upon a time, companies would rent the sides of the farm buildings facing the road and paint a giant ad on them. It made some much needed cash for the farmer and his family, while getting the word out about new products. We have tons of farmhouses that keep the advertisements on the sides of the buildings rustic fresh (very readable and clear, but still old-looking)- some of them for companies that don't even exist anymore. The adverts are old-fashioned, and as a whimsy touch to the otherwise rustic buildings.

oldcityvintage, that's awesome, thanks for the link. I think the Philly art museum really deserves props for the things it does for that city- I wish all art museums were as open, accessible, and community-based as that one is.

Give me a break; this is offensive. I'd sooner live in a tent than something even remotely similar to this. We're not going to solve poverty by stigmatizing low-income people even further, and it would be pretty hard to muster the self-respect necessary to break out of a situation that has you living in a box. On a highway. With an enormous ad for decor. Not to mention the noise and pollution.... Humans are generally intelligent. Seriously-can't we find a better solution?!?!?!?

Great out of the box concept for out of the box kind of people but not a solution for people seeking subsidized housing. Location, location, ocation.

Ridiculous

Clever Idea, but the low income angle is just dumb. The only people I see clamoring for these would be rich hipsters.

crazy but different

Yeah... hipsters. Of some breed or another. Also i'm still waiting for the animal rights cry of "but what about the poor pigeons!?" Haha. How would it be possible to cool a billboard, or keep it bearably warm in -40 degrees F in driving winds? And the plumbing? On the reservation i grew up in, kids would jokingly tell eachother to "go play on the highway", but what choice would a kid have living in a billboard? The noise would be bad enough but what about being practically suspended over every eighteen-wheeler or deisel pickup that toots by? I can't help thinking they would be a target for every kind of highway crime. It's a *creative* idea, but it's not money efficient and it's not humane. It would take a big chunk of the billboard's income to pay for the things it would need to function as a halfway decent home, and they'd be paying for things they wouldn't need elsewhere. Cool creativity, but it looks like a non-solution to me.

Neat post~

I am really conflicted on this one. This IS certainly imaginative repurposing. As the world's population crosses the 7 billion mark, we do need to be thinking of new ways to shelter it's occupants, but it shouldn't cost one their safety and dignity.

Is this like those people who drive around vehicles that read "advertise here"? ie do the residents have any say on what they advertise on the outside? I don't think the outside is that much improved from a normal billboard, but the idea is pretty interesting :)

I don't think this is a new concept..but it is cool nonetheless

That's a awesome billboard. The second one.

Instead of overpopulation why don't we just...you know...adopt ...instead of...you know....popping out babies left and right.

Wouldn't it make more sense to rent these spaces out to commercial businesses, like shops and restaurants and turn the profits into housing subsidies?

So interesting!

I would TOTALLY live in one! :) Roll for initiative, J & J

Upcycling is the new big thing I think allot of people would love the billboard home. Especially college age kids, I mean what a conversation piece. Plus who isn't try to save money with todays economy. Other than the pluming thing that Tinka mentioned I think it's a great idea.

Interesting work!!! congratulation!

This is really strange and interesting. . .

reminds me of an Ant farm for humans :/ however, I think it has potential. but not for subsided housing. But for upscale condos or lofts for eco minded young professionals. They could be attracted with the right design. Id be interested if 1. it had an elevator and 2. a roof top atrium. I'm not sure what they will do for windows? anyway I'm all over multipurpose design. intriguing conceptually.

Actually, as a low-income person I would have no problem living in an apartment with a billboard plastered outside...such advertising is no worse than magazines, newspapers, tv, or other billboards anyone is subjected to daily. Anything that helps me live in a decent apartment, I won't stick my nose up at. Besides, the upside with the energy idea possibly creating little to free utilities is great. Plus the possibility of living in the air with a better view than something icky across the way from my windows sounds truly wonderful...

Hey Chappell, wouldn't it be great if it was subsidized housing, and the ad was for Walmart, and the person living in it was in subsidized housing because he/she worked for Walmart earning next to nothing so needed the housing, and the food stamps, and etc., and if the billboard was in walking distance of an art museum owned by Walmart and... ?

interesting

Kinda reminds me of some of the old houses you see here in my town with painted adverts on the side. They're fading away through time but its kinda the same as having a billboard on your house..

Hi. At my day job, I was an arhitect on Coimbra City hall, till December my work was to license this horrible billboards inside the city. I can not understand how they can attract someone to the business that advertise. I personally run away from that shops. So bring some function to that structures, as we can´t refuse them because our legislation don´t allow us, it´s an improvement.

Thanks for a great post! I reckon there would be a skyrocketing demand for billboards, though. I don't think anyone would want that. It's still interesting to think about it and use that to find even more creative ideas.

Wow. Interesting!

Great article.

Just remember what kind of views you will be getting living in a billboard. It wont be the pretty desert shown in the post. The grease and exhaust from the eighteen wheelers blowing past your window is going to gum up the view something fierce. Looking through a smeared blackened window out onto angry people stuck in traffic, or speeding cars whizzing by at dizzying speeds is not what I like to see while enjoying my breakfast.

to aphotica: precisely. precisely.

Hm. Strange. I wouldn't live there personally, but to each their own :-)

Tagging on your house might be a problem.

tagging your house is a problem

As an engineer, there are lots of reasons why something like this would be very impractical, expensive or physically impossible. Just think about how the bathrooms would be hooked up, especially on the one with a mobile base. Why not just use the side of a building for a billboard? Thailand has a lot bigger, and different problem than the US where there are lots of empty big box stores, abandoned properties, etc that can be repurposed.

that is so cool. Great idea!