High–rises can be a solution for more people living on the same patch of arable land. With an increased urbanisation this also causes challenges for generation and consumption of food or energy at the same location. The aim in this project is to research if and how extra functions can be added to the design of high rises, making them more self-sufficient for a more sustainable way of living. 
There are many ways new technologies such as photovoltaic panels, wind turbines or vertical farms can be incorporated in the design of a building whilst maintaining its aesthetics. The researcher had to come up with a method which is giving good design solutions for how all these aspects can be integrated together in a reasonable time frame. For this challenge the researcher used machine learning and optimisation algorithms to calculate and predict the performance of these high-rise buildings in the conceptual design phase. With the help of AI he is able to play with the complex interplay of the many parameters that have to be taken into account whilst designing a new building. 

The researcher concludes that self-sufficiency of highly urbanised areas can better be sought on a neighbourhood level instead of within a single building. In this way the available space can be designed in a better way and used more sustainably. We develop our cities so our cities develop us aiding in decreasing our energy consumption or decarbonisation. Another next step is for architects to get more acquainted with data science methods so future architects are able to use these methods for validating their design solutions in the concept phase.