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PETALING JAYA: Gregory Christeas, a well-known artist from Greece, had arrived in Malaysia yesterday afternoon in KLIA. The reason he is coming to our country is to find a suitable site for him to build his own house in Malaysia and stay here for the rest of his life.

Artist Christeas was born in Greece, Athens. He is an abstract artist. He was taught by his mother the art of painting and learned the art of creation through the energies of nature. At the age of 4, he began his life as an artist by starting on sketches of family portraits with a pencil. There was an immediate positive reaction towards his drawings and he was a fast learner.

By his early 20’s, Christeas became well-known throughout Europe for his abstract arts and this lead him for international success. However, his dream was crushed on 21st April 1967 by the tanks rolling into Athens. At that time, he turned to be the organizer as well as the leader of Fighter L.A.O.S (People’s Liberation Organized Army) to restore the democracy of Greece in 1974. After that, he was married and lived in Santa Monica, California in the late 60’s.

This time, the main purpose for him to come over to Malaysia and decided to stay in Malaysia is to enjoy his aging life here. He said that he wants to experience the living in Malaysia and enjoy different things, culture and environment in Malaysia. On the other hand, he also wants to try a new life living in Malaysia where there are only sunny and rainy days throughout the whole year. Therefore, he wants to have a local architect to design him a house in Malaysia which the design will be more or less the same as his previous house with only some changes which can suit his needs and requirements for his ageing.

Firstly, as his concept of art is based on the energy of nature and the experience of life are to be captured in his art. He likes to hear the sound of the forest and also the sound of the rain. Therefore he requires a site where it is to be near to the forest and far from the busy city or somewhere around the countryside. Besides that, he also said that he likes to see his guests or people to walk a longer distance before they can enter his house. In this situation, he would like to have a longer façade in front of his house.

For the interior design of his house, he requires the adding of the hand rails around his house especially along the steps. The house has to be one-storey because he is no longer having too much strength to climb up and down through the stairs. The windows are to be made of wood and in a smaller size so that they are easier and lighter to be functioned. He wants timber to be the main material for his house. Elevations are to be reduced and provide lesser steps around the house. On the other hand, he requires the designer to have a space for his gallery and combines all three separated spaces into one. Lastly, he wants his entrance steps to be solid but not in timber because there will be gaps in between every steps if timber is used and this may cause some problems.

In conclusion, he wants his house to be simple, functional, and comfortable so that he can enjoy his ageing life without any problem.

By Pang Tung Yeng 0507P55026