The Las Vegas resident, who's a partner in a development firm and an architect and urban planner by training, wants to convert cargo containers carried on ships and rail into single-family homes. Stalk also said the steel containers are perfect for emergency shelter in dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane, tornado or tsunami, not only in the United States but worldwide.

Stalk is working to build the prototypes of his Instant-Built House in Las Vegas as part of a joint venture with his Metro Development Group and not-for-profit organization, SHARE, which he set up for projects such as this.

Stalk has been working with North Las Vegas on getting his Instant-Built homes approved for use in that city. There are several infill lots that are available for the affordable housing, he said.

While teaching architectural design and urban planning in California, Stalk, who moved to Las Vegas 16 years ago, said he started experimenting with alternative housing prototypes.

"I was on a cruise one time and we were in the port of San Pedro, and I saw hundreds of ocean containers stacked up and moving around," Stalk said. "I thought it would be an interesting model for housing."

Prompted by Hurricane Katrina and the lack of emergency housing and any type of housing after the disaster - something Stalk said was a source of frustration to see - he said the concept started to come together.

The lack of planning and preparation made this country look weak, Stalk said.

"No matter what it costs, we need to get it built," Stalk said. "We are squandering millions of dollars and we aren't ready for anything. Nobody is talking about it, but we are not ready for a disaster in this country today."

With a glut of shipping containers and their standardization, they can be used anywhere in the world, Stalk said. Simply by stacking and twisting the steel containers, Stalk said they could be molded into a shape for housing.

"The solution was right under our nose," Stalk said.

Stalk said he's already met with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and lawmakers about the use of the emergency housing and would like to see a prototype.

The disaster housing consists of one container that can be sent by rail, cargo plane or ship anywhere in the world, Stalk said. They could be kept at military bases awaiting the next disaster.

Single-family homes can be as much as 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, Stalk said. Both structures would be fabricated in a warehouse, but the homes would be assembled on site.

Even though they are built of steel, they would look like any other home. There would be insulation, drywall, and hardwood floors and a façade to cover the steel and amenities other homes have. The structures will be tied down with caisson footings that unlike mobile homes, makes these homes durable during storms, he said. It is 10 times stronger than a home as evidenced by how the containers are stacked nine high, he said.

Other architects have done similar things and are experimenting more and more, but nothing has ever been mass-produced, Stalk said.

"It is going to look better than the stucco boxes you see all over the valley," Stalk said. "It is going to look nice."

The effort will start with two to three homes in North Las Vegas on a site to be determined, and Stalk envisions encompassing whole subdivisions one day.

"It is a solution," Stalk said. "Someone has to start doing something. They can sit around and talk all the way about affordable housing and have fancy commissions and blue ribbon committees but that is the oldest trick in the book. All they do is sit around for two years talking and do nothing."

Stalk said he has raised more than $100,000 for land acquisition, preliminary development and plans to build the prototypes in the first half of the year.

The shelter prototype will cost $30,000 to $40,000 to build and could cost $18,000 to $22,000 to mass produce. The home prototype will cost $40,000 to $50,000 to build and $18,000 to $30,000 to mass produce, he said.

A key will be getting land underwritten and the Bureau of Land Management to set aside land for affordable housing.

Stalk said he is working with the United Way of Southern Nevada, for which he serves on the board of directors, and other agencies to find first-time homebuyers.

Robert Eastman, a principal planner for North Las Vegas, said there are some building code issues that need to be settled before the home would be allowed in the city but they are resolvable.

Eastman said it may be more blockish looking than wood-framed homes, but it shouldn't look substantially different. One question is what image people will have of the homes and the high land costs. He said they could work in the valley.

Metro, a commercial, residential and industrial firm, recently acquired Desert Mesa, an unfinished affordable housing project, from the North Las Vegas Housing Authority. Only 14 homes have been built, and Metro plans to build 110 more homes and 150 senior apartments.

Stalk said anyone who wants to learn more about the concept, or get involved, can call him at (702) 604-4699.