The annual West Coast Green conference relocated to the San Jose Convention Center this September 25-27th from San Francisco and Blue Practice was proud to represent the show for PR services.

Highlights included a keynote address by Al Gore on Saturday, September 27th to a sold-out room at the San Jose Civic Auditorium. Gore related the cuurent US financial crisis to the global energy crisis and talked of the need to "bail in" a new energy economy. West Coast Green exhibitors and speakers were similarly focused on the transition to a new energy landscape with products on display ranging from mobile solar generators to the latest in residential water reuse systems to advanced home energy tracking systems.

Blue Practice hosted a media "sneak peek" of the SG Blocks "Harbinger" showhouse designed by Lawrence Group on Wednesday, September 24th offering media a chance to see the just unveiled 2 story, 2 bedroom/bathroom home made from reused shipping containers. The house was an exciting draw at the show as it exemplified the need to reimagine our cuurent resources in new and sustainable ways.

Blue Practice has been working hand in hand lately with the premiere software company Autodesk, maker of AutoCAD and other important design tools on an internal communications program developed to engage the workforce.

At a recent quarterly “All Hands Meeting” on August 22 for the 1,200 global employees in the PSEB division of the company, the Blue Practice team helped launch the quarter's green design theme by inviting Michela O’Connor Abrams, Publisher and President of Dwell to be a guest speaker on the topic of "Design Matters: Why the Future Belongs to Right Brain Thinkers".

Michela delivered an inspiring talk on the power of design to move companies into the future that was attended by a large live audience at the San Rafael Civic Auditorium and by a global workforce via the internet.

Other elements of the communications program kicked off on August 22nd included a challenge for employees to answer Michela’s question of the audience: What in the world needs good design the most? Winning responders will attend a keynote address by Al Gore at the West Coast Green conference and expo in San Jose September 26th as well as select green, sustainable furnishings chosen and curated by Dwell editors. The Dwell editors will be judging the results and choosing winners.

In coming months, Blue Practice will be curating an on-going Inspiring Speaker Series for Autodesk, providing in-office and web-based installations and helping the PSEB division brand the exciting initiative.

Blue Practice took to the convention halls of Downtown LA June 5-8th, 2008 for the third annual Dwell on Design Conference + Expo, where we registered over 150 media representatives for the show!

The conference was kicked off by LA City Council President, Eric Garcetti who discussed LA's green building and smart development future and how the Dwell community has bolstered that progression. The topics over two days ranged from a LEED mandated future for LA building to the state of the prefab home movement to landscape design and "immortality through product" or the way designers can use product design as a way to imprint culture with an enduring mark.

The Expo was packed with 12,000 people checking out over 200 of the most innovative breaking sustainable modern design products including a whole "pop up" prefab neighborhood, a LifePod solar residential structure and the Ecoshack Yurt, a product that David Keeps from the LA Times says “re-imagines living spaces in green fashion.”

As the future permanent home of the Dwell on Design show, LA was the ideal backdrop for the myriad events, home tours and parties that rounded out the weekend.