At some point in the future Thailand will "become a partial paradise in the collective imagination of people, an escapism", says Lucia Chrometzka.

You might have thought it already is, but then it's amazing what you come across at the Thailand Design and Creative Centre at Bangkok's Emporium mall. Chrometzka, who works for the Future Concept Lab, based in Milan, Italy, was there over a recent weekend with her boss, Francesco Morace, talking about "Chinese Values and Western Creation", and their visionary perspectives of Thailand emerged.

Future Concept Lab studies different countries' "genius loci" - the attributes that make them unique, the cultural trends that form their "mindstyle". Getting used to their terminology takes some doing.

Thais are "Sense Girls" - that's their unique identity. It has something to do with their natural femininity and intuitiveness and the sense that Thailand is a good place to relax, a hospitable Eden.

This feminine quality, Chrometzka said, transcends gender. There's an ambivalence between men and women here rarely found in other countries.

But Sense Girls alludes more to Thailand's modern young women, affluent, educated, entrepreneurial and discriminating.

"Thais are unique in their hospitality, taking care of the details," she said.

The keywords to Thailand's genius loci, Morace added, are "hyper sense", "ecstatic" and "refined pollination".

The keyword to the Italians' presentation, for many listeners, was "huh?"

Floods and coups are, of course, neither ecstatic nor relaxing, but Morace and Chrometzka are concerned more with aesthetics, and lamented that Thailand will only become a true paradise if its people stop taking their natural uniqueness and everyday blessings for granted.

Case in point: It took a Canadian, then-Miss Universe Natalie Glebova, to get Thais thinking about the wai. When she started demonstrating the traditional greeting on TV, we all thought, at least momentarily, about the way we use the gesture all the time.

"The wai is a very strong gesture when foreigners see it," Chrometzka said.

She and Morace visited the Bangkok International Gift Fair and were impressed with the organic materials used here to make many products.

"There was this lampshade that diffused the light so it doesn't come as a shock to your eyes," Chrometzka said.

Elsewhere she spotted the condiments dish with four interconnected saucers, utterly ubiquitous to Thais, a work of genius to her.

Morace and Chrometzka warned, though, that modernisation and globalisation are robbing many countries of their identity. Italy has been that route already, they said, and now it and much of the West are trying to pedal backwards, almost literally.

"Westerners used to revel in luxury, big shopping malls, big cars, but today they're seeking nature and simplicity," Chrometzka said. "There is a need to relax the muscles physically and mentally."

As an example, she cited Italians' new passion for the bicycle.

"It's no longer ethical to use cars," she said, and it's cool to ride a bike - with automobiles actually banned in some urban centres on Sundays in a bid to reduce pollution.

This global "return to nature" creates an opportunity for Thailand, the duo said, but Thais view their very resources as drawbacks.

"The outdoors is a limitation for you," Chrometzka said, referring to the heat and humidity, "but there is potential outside. It's difficult but you can invest in bringing the outside inside."

Morace advocates an integration of the genius loci of Asian countries. China's "Unique Sons" are forever looking for new things, he said, so they're a ready market for the delicacy and femininity of Thai fabric, designs and services.

The "Pleasure Growers" of the West seek out relaxing and exotic destinations and experiences, and the famed Thai massage is but one of the many talents that can be offered here. It's up to Thailand to let the world know what else is available, he said.

So what about this "refined pollination"? The design centre's website, www.tcdc.or.th, has a try:

" 'Refined Pollination' leverages the ethnic and exotic, interacting with elements of global culture [and] creates artistic visions based on an evolving equilibrium of refinement, elegance, cleanliness and perfection."

Is that any clearer?

Lisnaree Vichitsorasatra

The Nation