RATIO and We Care; a holiday tradition

At We Care Vancouver, December 2017, the super-charged festive buzz was enhanced by a visit from Santa and happy enthusiasm from the kids.

Today, October 19 is International Credit Union day. This is a shout out to the credit unions in our communities for their ongoing service pledge to their members and communities. The RATIO team has been privileged to work with credit unions for over 50 years.

The RATIO-designed Launchpad space in the Brighouse branch of the Richmond Public Library provides interactive community learning opportunities and features a lecture space, a dedicated classroom, a flexible learning space, and creation stations.

The American Society of Interior Designers’ (ASID) ICON magazine explored the issue of designing for confidentiality in this era of open-plan spaces through dialogue with 4 designers including RATIO partner, Christopher Pollard.

For us, the Branch of the Future is more than just a change in decor. It is our understanding of the business, how to serve customers better, how to integrate technology in-branch in a customer-friendly way, and how to create high-value transactions that allows us to create a path to the Branch of the Future.

The RATIO-designed Kanaka Creek Watershed Stewardship Centre is in final stages of construction. The opening celebration is scheduled for April 30, 2017.

We Care Vancouver, organized by Workplace Resource / Herman Miller provides a gift making experience for over 300 children. This year RATIO participated with teams from SSDG, Kasian, Omicron, Perkins+Will, Smart Design Group, Stantec, ZAS, and BYU.

Identifying and preserving the heritage sites in our communities acknowledges the important link to the past and our shared heritage. Heritage BC recently announced a new Japanese-Canadian Historic Places Recognition Project to be completed on behalf of the British Columbia Ministry of International Trade and the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. They are seeking nominations of historic places of place with heritage values believed to be significant or important to the Japanese-Canadian community in BC.

Over the years RATIO has worked on transforming a West Vancouver heritage building, Gertrude Lawson House, to the multi-use West Vancouver Museum & Archives building.

Recently, the Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences met a milestone with the instalment of Founding Chancellor, the Honourable Wayne G Wouters. RATIO’s history with the university started when chosen by PCU-WHS to develop a site master plan and to design the first building based on a mutual devotion to this outstanding cause. Our work was completed in 2011.

Congratulations to Vancity for their first LEED Platinum for Commercial Interiors for their Mount Tolmie community branch in Victoria on Vancouver Island. RATIO acted as the prime consultant and was responsible for the planning and design of the of the 5000 square foot space. This project was another opportunity for Vancity to build a healthy, productive, community-minded space with a reduced environmental footprint. We are our proud that our work on Vancity’s Mount Tolmie branch resulted in a LEED Platinum for Commercial Interiors rating.

This year, BC Rivers Day coincides with World Rivers Day on Sunday September 27, 2015. BC Rivers Day is a chance to celebrate the province’s rivers, and to reflect on what we stand to lose if we fail to take better care of them. RATIO’s work has taken them all over the province working on projects related to our most precious resource, BC’s rivers and waterways.

The design solution for the new recreation centre was to update the original uninspiring facility with a new, more prominent frontage that reflects the importance of this civic structure in the community.

Pitt Meadows residents can now enjoy a modern, welcoming recreation centre. The modernized and expanded fitness centre is bright with natural light, welcoming and triple the size.

This important civic multi-use facility in Pitt Meadows also houses the community policing office.

Click here for more photos of the project.