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A house with walls made of water might seem rather absurd, but one architect believes it could help save energy in the future.

Dr Matyas Gutai, a Hungarian architect and founder of Allwater, has designed a house where the walls are filled with water to keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

His concept, which he calls 'liquid engineering', traps water inside glass and steel panels that make up the structure of the house.

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Allwater proposes connecting the walls, windows, roof panels and floor so they can be filled with water to cool buildings during hot weather and help to heat rooms during colder weathers, as shown in the graphic above

Dr Gutai claims the system can shave up to 20 per cent off a home's energy bills and if combined with renewable energy could take it off grid entirely.

Speaking on the website Pechakucha, he said: 'I am working on a building that responds to the environment similar to what happens in biology.

'You have walls, floors and roofs which are all connected, so the water is connected.

'You have a structure that really acts like a living being.'

Dr Gutai, who first began developing the idea while working at the University of Tokyo, said his design works by creating glass and steel panels.

Unlike traditional bricks, however, they are relatively lightweight and so can be fitted together so they are all connected.

Once in place, the panels are then filled with water to create a thin layer of water in the walls, roof and floor.

Dr Gutai, who has produced designs for both residential housing and offices using the technology, said that this approach makes it easier to construct the building and removes the need for extra insulation.

He said: 'Instead of insulating the buildings, you have a structure that absorbs energy and reuses it for later.

'You can have a sustainable house without any insulation at all.'

Dr Gutai has built a small prototype pavillion (above) using his technology in Kecskemet in central Hungary

The technology uses panels (shown above) that can be connected together and then filled with water in place

As all the water is connected, heat from one room is distributed around the house.

Excess heat during hot weather can also be carried off and stored in 'heat traps' - large water filled tanks beneath the house.

When the weather turns cold, the heat stored in the tanks passes from the water into the building to help heat it.

Allwater believe their designs could lead to new energy efficient homes that regulate their own temperature

Hungarian architect designs house with WATER in the walls

Mr Gutai and his colleagues have also designed green office buildings using the water panel technology

He said: 'Fluid infill is not only a superb heat storage opportunity, it is also perfect for heating and cooling, and also distributing to maintain an ideal thermal balance indoors.

'In addition to thermal comfort, the system is also energy efficient.

'The panel utilizes the total surface as a "battery" to capture heat load during the whole year to use it in winter.

'This gives considerable energy savings, because the 'heat trap' not only allows cheap heating energy reserves, but also cools the house in summer.'