If you, like me, watch travel, house-hunting, and cooking shows, you know that Chiang Mai, Thailand, is touted as the latest laid-back, inexpensive place to enjoy great scenery, food, and hospitality. Thailand’s second-largest city, located in the cooler, mountainous north of the country, offers plenty to see and do. You can tour awe-inspiring Buddhist temples by day and peruse the famous night markets for dinner, entertainment, and handicrafts. An hour or two from the historic center, you can trek deeper into Chiang Mai province and visit elephant sanctuaries and indigenous villages.
On a recent three-week visit with my family, I noticed something else: Chiang Mai University has substantial buildings housing a College of Digital Innovation and a College of Art, Media and Technology. A visit to the TCDC, the Thailand Creative and Design Center, demonstrated that the government fully and publicly supports design as a catalyst for social and economic growth.
The country has invested in architecturally notable buildings that are comfortable places to research, teach, work, and present the results.
TCDC Chiang Mai has the largest design library I’ve had the pleasure of visiting (pictured above and below).
The periodicals ‘corner’ offers hundreds of magazines.
Exhibits at the entrance and throughout the space share design-related news and events across Southeast Asia (like the color-focused vignette, above).
Visitors and members can access a database with more than 8,000 files of textiles (like this sample of waterproof, biodegradable wall covering material composed of 98% banana fibers, above) and building and construction materials.
It is not only study and research that is taking place. Chiang Mai Design Week 2024, December 7 – 15, the website on the monitor above, is promoted as a “festival” with exhibitions, music and performance events, talks, tours, workshops, and a marketplace.
There are dedicated spaces for conferences, seminars, and training. Media rooms are available for designers and entrepreneurs to present their concepts and products.
There are dedicated spaces for conferences, seminars, and training. Media rooms are available for designers and entrepreneurs to present their concepts and products.
A permanent exhibition of 300 fascinating Thai-made materials for construction and manufacturing demonstrates why Thailand is considered a leader in developing and producing eco-friendly materials. A sign invites local artisans and manufacturers to submit samples for selection in the Material ConneXions database for viewing worldwide. Brands including Adidas, BMW, Chilewich, Logitech, and Puma, have created products using materials displayed in the centers.
Two examples of how Lanna handicrafts are transformed into consumer goods. (“Lanna” means “millions of rice fields” and refers to Northern Thailand, where Chiang Mai is located. It’s also the name of the dialect people in rural areas speak.) This high-performance shoe (above left) is made from black-and-white woven stretch fabric that appears to be made of tiny metal spheres. The bench (above right) is crafted from paper made from pineapple fibers and formed over a steel frame.
Samples in the exhibit include (clockwise from top left) a material for applications like floor mats made from small linked blocks of local hardwood; art paper made from mulberry fiber dust; a patterned textile that blocks light, heat and UV and electromagnetic rays; pesticide-free upholstery fabric made from organic wool and ramie; paper made from long inner fibers of plants; Korean ‘hanji’ mulberry paper with a three-dimensional, reflective pattern.
Three Branches, One Country
The TCDC was established in 2004 by a royal decree —Thailand has a 700-year-old monarchy, considered a pillar of stability and identity — for “Establishing the Creative Economy Promotion Agency.” It operates under the office of the Prime Minister “to serve as the country’s premier learning resource center for design and creativity, providing comprehensive knowledge of design-related matters.” The original and most extensive branch is in Bangkok’s historic Grand Postal Building. The Chiang Mai branch I visited was designed by DBALP (Duangrit Bunnig Architects Limited) and opened in 2013. It calls itself “the first public learning center in Northern Thailand, … an education resource to develop creativity among entrepreneurs, designers, students and interested members of the general public.” The newest center, in Khon Kaen, a province northeast of Bangkok, opened in 2020 “to promote creativity at the regional level and drive economic and social growth” in collaboration with Khon Kaen University.
The three branches — in one country about 30 percent smaller than Texas — offer access to all the resources described here, including more than 70,000 books, 170 magazine titles, and 500 multimedia files. There are various levels of annual membership, ranging from (converted from Thai Baht) $18 (student) to $4500 (corporate). A visitor’s day pass is $4.50.
Reaching Out to the Public
As I left, I was handed a six-page questionnaire “to evaluate the benefits and satisfaction received.” It queried my age, gender, highest educational level, and occupation. Then, I was asked to state the reason for the visit, from “participate in trainings” to “get new inspiration and ideas.” The survey asked me to rank everything from the location to the signage, the knowledge and enthusiasm of the staff, to the way the books and material samples are organized. The last page provided ample space to suggest improvements.
My suggestions: Why not include books by or about American and British designers? I spotted nothing by The Partners, Neville Brody, Paula Scher, Stefan Sagmeister, or Milton Glaser. The shelves could benefit by including copies of Henry’s Wolf’s Visual Thinking and Pentagram’s Ideas on Design. The magazine corner might feel more complete with issues of Communication Arts and Eye. But that’s just personal, Western prejudice.
Then again, couldn’t [insert any US design center or materials library] benefit from including some of these Thai design resources?
The arrangement of objects in this window at TCDC Chiang Mai — with a view of the surrounding hills and traditional tile-roofed buildings — sums up Thailand’s commitment to transforming generations of local handcrafting expertise into useful and beautiful products that drive economic growth.
Imagery courtesy of the author.
Where else in the world can you discover design centers and museums? Here are a few ideas:
China — OCT Design Museum, Shenzhen
An avant-garde space for exhibitions of fashion, product, and conceptual automotive design — within an eco-development that combines tourism, entertainment, shopping, lodging, dining, and nightlife with elements of local culture.
Denmark — Designmuseum Danmark, Copenhagen
The objects and exhibitions present Denmark as a country strong on design — from Lego bricks to Arne Jacobsen’s Egg chair — and emphasize how good design makes the world a better place to live.
England — The Design Museum, London
Founded in 1989 by Sir Terence Conran and devoted to design in every form, this museum even offers a master’s degree program in Curating Contemporary Design.
Germany — Bauhaus Archiv Museum of Design, Berlin
A new home for the collection of Bauhaus objects — some one million paintings, photographs, plans, models, graphic works, and archival records — is currently under construction to preserve and promote the legacy of the Bauhaus, founded by Walter Gropius in 1919.
Italy — Museo del Design Italiano, Milan
This 100-year-old institution is in the Palazzo dell’Arte. The permanent exhibition features iconic pieces in the history of Italian design — lots of fashion and furniture.
Singapore — Red Dot Design Museum
Promotes good design for business via an important international annual competition awarding the best in 35 categories including, products for babies and children, mobile phones, tools, and medical devices.
South Korea — Dongdaemun Design Plaza | DDP
“Dream, Design, Play DDP.” Designed by Zaha Hadid with undulating walls that house, in addition to a design museum and lab, conference and public spaces “where global citizens can share and enjoy the value of design.”