Building design can be less about finding better materials, and more about the efficient management of existing resources.

Imagine a city whose buildings are connected by a large network, that allows for the energy usage of individual buildings, floors, even rooms to be controlled to suit various needs.

Its buildings would be linked by intelligent networking systems that allow them to "communicate" with each other. In other words, buildings should be able to manage their energy uses by directing resources away from buildings which have low consumption to those with greater needs.

As the world population increases and cities become larger and larger, an efficient means of managing a region's energy resources will be crucial. If a building can effectively reduce energy consumption of a floor that is derelict or not in use for a period of time, then less energy will be lost.

Of course, such a network system would require the use of managing a large amount of data and perhaps artificial intelligence to do so.