Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC): A Quick Guide
As someone who technically "works from home" yet can barely get myself to type a sentence unless surrounded by other quietly productive people, I spend a disproportionate amount of my time in Bangkok checking out different cafés, libraries, and coworking spaces.
That’s how I ended upon checking out one of my favorite recent discoveries: the Thailand Creative & Design Center, or TCDC, on a recent scouting outing.
Taking over the side and back wings of the Grand Postal Building on Charoen Krung Road, this creative hub manages to be both historic and forward-looking.
Originally built in the 1940s, the building still retains its striking Art Deco and International Style facade — and technically, it still houses a branch of Thailand Post, keeping it an operational post office — however, most of the space now belongs to TCDC.
While the exterior is very historic, the interior is very forward-thinking. The aesthetic is a mix of white Scandinavian minimalism with just a bit of a brutalist edge, but my favorite part is just how bright the space is. It's the kind of place where you can feel your brain cells waking up just by walking in.
Navigating the TCDC Maze: How to Get In
For me, this was how I got in. There is also a way in via the back entrance, but I think this is the most straightforward way to get in.
Start at the building’s front entrance — the one facing Charoen Krung Road — and enter via the left hand side (you'll see signage for TCDC here), where you can then take the elevator to the 5th floor.
You’ll pass a tranquil rooftop garden area with some art installations along the way, a little urban oasis with views of the city skyline.
Keep going, and you’ll wind your way into the back wing of the building, where there's a little shop, matcha stand, and an information desk, where you can buy a day pass for just 100 baht (less than $3 USD).
The Coworking Space
Most people come here for the 4th-floor coworking space, and I get why. It’s peaceful, quiet, and — even on a Sunday afternoon — spacious enough that you don't have to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone like I have at some other coworking spaces, like TK Knowledge Park.
Every seat comes with a dedicated outlet, so it's perfect if you need to sit down for a full day of work -- longer than your laptop battery will allow.
All the while, you'll be surrounded by design books and focused creatives, and with all that sunlight streaming in, you’ll feel like a better and more creative version of yourself, just by sitting down.
If you feel like browsing the shelves for inspiration, you'll find it in every type. You'll find shelves lined with everything from architecture, animation, textiles -- if it's even tangentially related to design and creativity, you'll find it here.
My personal favorite? A thick tome dedicated entirely to hotel design. I left with a list of boutique stays I now irrationally feel I must visit, despite my wallet's protestations.
Exhibits & Experiential Learning
Two floors down on the second floor, you’ll find a Materials Library where you can physically touch and interact with all kinds of samples — from textiles to polymers — which is a really cool experience if you’re working in product design, or honestly if you're just someone who likes to touch all sorts of textures (me, I'm talking about myself).
This materials library also had a temporary exhibit which focused on clays and other earthen materials, which were displayed in a very unique way, sort of like a solar system of ceramics.
On the ground floor, there’s a rotating art exhibition space -- and it's useful to note that this is a free access space, so even if you haven't paid for a day pass to TCDC, you could still pop up here via the back entrance.
And upstairs on the fifth floor, there was an entire exhibit on chairs — yes, chairs. Beautiful, avant-garde, postmodern masterpieces… that all failed the ultimate test: being comfortable.
For Your Caffeine Fix
Before you enter the center via the 5th-floor entrance, I strongly suggest you swing by the gift shop’s little matcha kiosk.
They offer all sorts of fancy types of matcha -- a menu that I don't even understand except for the fact that hojicha is brown (that's about the extent of my matcha knowledge).
So I asked for a suggestion and ended up with this delicious strawberry matcha latte. With its delicate tricolor layers, it almost looked like a dessert -- and tasted like one too!
Need to Know
📍 Location: 1160 Charoen Krung Road, Bangkok 10500
🕘 Hours: Open Tuesday–Sunday, 10:30 AM – 9:00 PM (Closed Mondays)
💸 Entry Fee: 100 baht for a day pass (access to library + coworking space + materials lab); yearly plans available
