Thailand set to shine with Asia’s first Creative and Design Center
Bangkok – Thailand unveiled Asia’s first design learning and resource facility, Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC), to foster the country’s creativity and inspire innovative ideas among design professionals and entrepreneurs.
Chaiyong Rattana-ung-goon TCDC Managing Director said “To maintain competitiveness in the global market, Thailand can no longer compete with other countries in term of lower labor costs, yet the country need to capitalize on creativity in designing products and services to better meet with market requirements.“
“Thailand has to further boost export revenues in a bid to keep its trade position in surplus,” said Mr. Chaiyong. “To be able to achieve the target, we need to make knowledge more accessible to people, that will inspire their creativity and enable them to develop their product originality.”
TCDC also cooperates with Material ConneXion®, a company with strong expertise in design materials, in setting up Material ConneXion® Bangkok, which is Asia’s first extensive material library and the world’s fourth of its kind.
The co-inauguration event, held on the 6th floor of the Emporium Shopping Complex on November 14, was also joined by George M. Beylerian, President of Material ConneXion®.
In addition to Material ConneXion® Bangkok, the 4,490-square-meter center located on 6th Floor of The Emporium Shopping Complex also houses other state-of-the-art facilities including:
- The largest design library in Asia comprising over 15,000 design books and related publications as well as a large selection of films, video and other multi-media works;
- Permanent exhibition that provides basic design knowledge from design works from 10 countries and those showcasing design works from within the country and the world’s leading design centers;
- 130-seat convention facility to serve seminars and workshops and design training courses;
- Creative space for new generation of designers to display their design works at no expense;
- Shop and restaurant;
“TCDC is the source of knowledge and self-experience with the atmosphere that stimulates your imagination and creativity,” said Mr. Chaiyong “The center will help translate creative ideas into the right products for the world market.”
TCDC is part of the government’s attempt to build Thailand as a knowledge-based society under the supervision of the Office of Knowledge Management and Development.
“Thailand is one of the largest manufacturing hubs of Asia with a variety in term of materials,” Mr. Beylerian added. “The cooperation between Material ConneXion® and TCDC is believed to bring about sourcing of new materials to well respond to the need of Thai designers and manufacturers”.
He said Material ConneXion Bangkok® planned to exhibit more than 600 design works and to have about 33 new materials sent in from all over the world each month to keep Thai designers updated on the world’s material and design trend.
