ABOUT US

 

A Ratio expresses proportion, balance, and relationship. Our name is grounded in the importance of relations and relationships in our work. Between a building and its environment. Between citizens and structures. Between our firm and our clients.

 

WHO WE ARE

We are a Vancouver architecture firm and so much more. As an interdisciplinary office, we collaborate to bring distinctive thinking, rigorous creativity and a sustainable approach to every project.

  • Architects
  • Interior Designers
  • Planners
  • Sustainability Consultants
  • Code Consultants
  • Project Managers

Our work is grounded in the importance of meaningful relationships with our clients.  We are careful listeners and excellent collaborators and ensure our clients’ needs are addressed from the beginning; and for the future. Through creativity and experience, we bring order to complex problems. We are unrelenting in our work to benefit the communities and environments in which we work.

SASCU-Uptown

 

We are experts in designing Cultural Institutions, Public Infrastructure, Corporate Workspaces, Credit Unions and other specialized projects. As interior designers, planners and architects in Vancouver, we work on projects throughout Western Canada.

 

OUR SUSTAINABLE DESIGN COMMITMENT

Sensitivity to our shared environment is at the core of Ratio’s professional practice. We strive to design and build facilities that respond to their surroundings. We do this by reducing their life-time negative impacts (e.g. carbon footprint) and including features with positive outcomes for the environment and the community.

Ratio has extensive experience in integrating environmentally positive, sustainable, or “green” design in our projects, and have created numerous environmentally conscious building designs. These include ones recognized under several sustainable whole-building certification programs, such as LEED, Green Globes, and Passive House.

 

Kanaka Creek cropped

SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES

Ratio takes the issue of sustainability and the reduction of our collective energy and GHG emissions very seriously. We have experience working on projects with both proprietary benchmarking systems and those with customized, site specific solutions.

At Ratio, we don’t consider sustainable practice to be a discretionary project attribute. The protection of our environment and the health and well being of our communities, and those who use the spaces we design, are naturally part of all of our work. We ensure that appropriate sustainable strategies are integrated into each project stage.

Ratio has LEED® accredited, Certified Passive House Designers (CPHD), Green Globes and Well accredited professionals on our team to guide each project and to ensure that every sustainable objective is met.

 

OUR HISTORY

In 1954, our firm was established in Vancouver, BC as Toby & Russell Architects. As one of the oldest architecture firms in the country, we have helped to shape the architectural landscape of Western Canada. Working collaboratively with our clients, we’ve created recognizable landmarks such as Kitsilano Coast Guard Station,  Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre and the bustling Pacific Highway Border Crossing.  Our historical work includes some of Vancouver’s iconic buildings including Vancouver’s Sinclair Centre, Buchanan Building and Holy Name Church.

 

Our experience working with Credit Unions is substantial. We have worked with Vancity, Envision Financial, Valley First Credit Union and seven other credit unions in British Columbia. From Credit Unions, Workspaces and Libraries to Border Crossings, Cultural Centres and Parks, our work has been rooted in creating positive outcomes for the community and the environment.

 

 

Ratio operates on the traditional and unceded shared territory of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples.