Indiana Convention Center Expansion. Photograph by William Zbaren.

RATIO is an international design firm, headquartered in Indianapolis. Since its founding in 1982, RATIO has worked closely with the State of Indiana on numerous projects, including the Indiana State Museum, the Indiana State Archives Building, the Indiana Convention Center Expansion and the Indiana Health and Forensic Sciences Laboratories. The company is currently designing a new campus, co-locating the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired with the Indiana School for the Deaf.

Shaping the environment

In all of RATIO’s work, the company’s people are motivated to connect people and place, and to shape environments for purpose, beauty and meaning. RATIO’s employees are driven to have a lasting, positive impact by creating places that make communities healthier, stronger and more resilient.

RATIO’s people believe good design is inclusive, contextual, and timeless and for civic buildings this purpose is even more pronounced. The projects must fill a public need, serve an entire community, and last for decades if not a century. Impact is measured by social good rather than commercial benefit. This responsibility is not taken lightly. The Indiana State Archives Building, which is currently under construction, is a highly technical, functional facility that will preserve Indiana’s priceless documents for generations.

Indiana State Archives. Rendering by RATIO Design.

Located on a prime site selected carefully with the consultation of the State, the building is designed to signal its civic importance with iconic architecture, while also fitting into the context of the adjacent historic institutions – the Indiana State Library and the Indiana Historical Society – creating an important academic research district. The Archives has been designed to foster a sense of pride and connection to the State’s history, while maximizing the performance of the people who work and visit the building. Achieving this balance between form and function requires know-how and experience, and RATIO is proud to have earned the State’s trust as its responsible steward.

Investment in the Future

Buildings of this scale are major investments. Through each project phase, RATIO works hard to engage all stakeholders, including the community being served, to minimize risk and to maximize economy, efficiency, as well as civic connection and pride. The company also wants to ensure that the building it designs can be maintained and taken care of – that the State is set up for success and that the facility is designed to last. This longevity is what contributes to civic buildings’ landmark status, and RATIO is proud of its reputation for providing this solid foundation.

“Having worked together for nearly forty years, the Indiana Department of Administration has come to rely not only on RATIO’s impactful designs and high-quality professional service, but also on the firm’s understanding of what our communities need. RATIO’s deep Indiana roots, paired with its global experience in a variety of sectors, means its design work merges civic responsibility with an innovative edge. That powerful combination helps us deliver the best projects to Indiana’s people.”

– Rebecca Holwerda, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Administration

A Shared Success

RATIO is grateful to the State of Indiana for this decades-long relationship and for the opportunity to design a wide variety of building types and master plans for them. The company has served multiple governors, commissioners and other state administrators; these relationships have become foundational to the firm. Bringing the Indiana State Museum to life in 2002 was a pivotal moment for RATIO. This project empowered the company with valuable knowledge and capability, allowing RATIO to expand the firm across the country and globally.

Indiana State Museum. Photograph by Jeff Goldberg.

Our work with the State of Indiana is especially fulfilling, because this is our community too.

We’re proud to bring these broader insights back home to Indiana and continue to contribute to making our great Crossroads State even greater.