and sleek sun-shading in the form of metal or wood louvres, instead of the modernist glass curtain wall, which admits and traps solar heat. These architectural efforts have taken on a new relevance and urgency due to concerns about global warming, climate change and environmental sustainability, especially given that air conditioning in buildings is one of the largest consumers of electricity in Singapore, which is mostly generated by fossil fuels. From the late 1990s, like many other global cities and aspiring global cities, the Singapore government consciously launched a drive to develop 'iconic' landmarks in the city to strengthen the Singapore brand identity as well as to attract foreign tourists, skilled immigrants, investments and buzz. Several such landmark projects have since been developed, sometimes through open or closed architectural design competitions. These include the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay arts centre, the Supreme Court of Singapore, the new National Library, Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort and the Singapore Flyer. Pre-colonial architecture Prior to the British establishment of a settlement in 1819, architecture followed the pattern of the surrounding region. Vernacular architecture was primarily village (or 'kampong') houses built in the Malay tradition. Malay kampong houses were built on stilts and raised above the ground (or water, depending on their location). The house was erected around a skeletal structure of tropical hardwood posts and beams, usually chengal. Medium hardwoods, like meranti, were used as floor boards, roof rafters and door and window frames. The roof itself was made of layers of palm frond thatch, while the walls were either made of woven bamboo strips or meranti planks. The basic form of the house was simple, but additional rooms could be added according to the requirements and wealth of the family. Likewise, the architectural ornament, in the form of carved wood fascia boards, screens and panels, could be quite elaborate. Apart from this domestic rural architecture, there is evidence that more substantial buildings may have been built on the island. A nearby example of similar classical Hindu-Buddhist Malay architecture is Candi Muara Takus in the Riau province of Sumatra. Like the Singapore example, it also featured the use of sandstone as well as terraces. Stone foundations on Fort Canning Hill were discovered by the British soon after they arrived. Although they have since been destroyed and removed, the officials who discovered them speculated they were part of Hindu or