RATIO Architects

What RATIO Architects does

RATIO Architects, LLC is a U.S.-based multidisciplinary architecture and design firm founded in 1982 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The firm operates across ten practice areas — Higher Education, K12 Education, Workplace, Civic & Cultural, Parks & Recreation, Hospitality, Sports & Venues, Residential, Mixed-Use, and Health & Life Sciences — supported by six in-house disciplines (Architecture, Historic Preservation, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, and Graphic Design). RATIO employs between 101 and 250 staff across studios in Indianapolis, Raleigh, and Seoul, with the RATIO | smdp sub-brand focused on international work in Asia-Pacific markets.

The firm delivers professional architecture and design services through project-based, fixed-fee engagements tied to standard project phases (schematic design, design development, construction documents, construction administration). Revenue is generated through direct client engagement, competitive bidding, and RFQ/RFP processes targeting institutional clients (universities, healthcare systems, government agencies), corporate clients (e.g., Cummins), and real estate developers (e.g., Hendricks Commercial Properties, DL E&C). Notable projects include the ULI Global Award-winning Bottleworks District, the 2.1M SF IU Health flagship hospital delivered through the CURIS Design joint venture, and international assignments including Marriott's CairoHouse in Egypt and Acro Seoul Forest in South Korea.

RATIO is a privately held LLC with no disclosed parent company, venture capital, or private equity ownership. The firm is structured around more than 20 principals and associate principals credentialed across AIA, LEED AP, FAIA, ASLA, and IIDA designations, with leadership including Bill Browne, Jr. (Principal/CEO) and Chris Boardman (Principal/President). Marketing is conducted primarily through the firm's project portfolio website, industry awards (ENR Top 500 Design Firm, ULI, AIA), and thought leadership on adaptive reuse and mental health in architecture.

Name

RATIO Architects

Legal name

RATIO Architects, LLC

Website

https://ratiodesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

RATIO Architects is a U.S. multidisciplinary architecture and design firm founded in 1982, serving higher education, healthcare, hospitality, government, and corporate clients across Indianapolis, Raleigh, and Seoul studios via ten practice areas and six in-house design disciplines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141), Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Interior design
• Urban planning
• Historic preservation
• Landscape architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Professional architecture and design fees for new construction, renovation, adaptive reuse, and master planning projects across commercial, institutional, and residential sectors. Revenue is project-based, typically earned through contracted design fees tied to project phases (schematic design, design development, construction documents, construction administration).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

RATIO Architects is a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm providing professional services in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, urban design, historic preservation, and graphic design. The firm delivers new construction, renovation, adaptive reuse, and master planning projects across practice areas including higher education, healthcare, hospitality, workplace, residential, mixed-use, and sports/venues for institutional, corporate, government, and developer clients.

Product overview

RATIO Architects is an architecture and design firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of practice areas and disciplines. The firm operates across multiple service lines including Higher Education, K12 Education, Workplace, Civic & Cultural, Parks & Recreation, Hospitality, Sports & Venues, Residential, Mixed-Use, and Health & Life Sciences architecture. Core disciplines encompass Architecture, Historic Preservation, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, and Graphic Design. The firm also operates RATIO | smdp as an innovative global design studio focused on contemporary architectural and urban design challenges. The portfolio includes landmark projects such as the Bottleworks District (adaptive reuse hotel), Eskenazi Health Ambulatory Care Building, and various university athletic and academic facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Higher Education Architecture Architecture and design services for universities and colleges, including campus master planning, academic buildings, research laboratories, student housing, and athletic venues.
• Health & Life Sciences Architecture Architecture and design services for healthcare systems and life science research organizations, including hospitals, ambulatory care facilities, medical laboratories, and research campuses.
• Hospitality Architecture Architecture and design services for hotels, resorts, restaurants, food halls, and entertainment venues, with particular expertise in adaptive reuse of historic buildings into boutique hotels under brand partnerships with Marriott International.
• Workplace Architecture Architecture and design services for corporate offices and workplaces, focused on elevating employee experience through mobility, flexibility, collaboration, and socialization.
• Residential Architecture

Quantifiable outcome

• Bottleworks District achieved ULI Global Award for Excellence and contributed to $2.6 million in additional renovation projects within Madison's Historic Landmark District
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• CURIS Design (RATIO Design, BSA LifeStructures, CSO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership formed for the New Downtown Indianapolis Hospital project. CURIS Design is a collaboration between RATIO Design, BSA LifeStructures, and CSO to deliver a coordinated design approach for this flagship 2,100,000 SF hospital for IU Health, Indiana's largest healthcare system.
• HCM (Happel, McCollum & Associates)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for Colorado State University projects. RATIO served as Design Architect in association with HCM for the Suzanne and Walter Scott, Jr. Bioengineering Building and Chemistry Research Building projects.
• Murphy Group ArchitectssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for University of Kentucky's Grehan Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering project (44,000 SF).
• Collins Cooper Carusi Architects, Inc.supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for University of Georgia's Payne Indoor Athletic Facility (106,150 SF) project.
• AECOMsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse Renovation (201,270 SF, LEED Gold, Cook Cup Outstanding Restoration).
• SLAM CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for University of Notre Dame's Campus Crossroads project (836,000 SF). RATIO served as Master Planner and Design Architect.
• William Rawn AssociatessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for Indiana University's Walnut Grove Center (212,000 SF, 700 beds) as Executive Architect.
• HOKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for Eskenazi Health Ambulatory Care Building (190,000 SF, $800 million complex) and Hulman Center Renovation & Addition (107,000 SF, LEED Silver).
• Gansam Architects & PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociate Architect partnership for Centropolis project in Seoul's downtown business district. Two 26-story towers totaling 1,500,000 SF achieving over $1 billion in pre-occupancy sales, LEED Gold certified.
• TenBerkesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for Cummins Indianapolis Distribution Center (180,000 SF, AIA Indiana Honor Award).
• F.A. Wilhelm Construction, Inc. and Patch DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign-build partnership for Riverview Health Arena at Innovation Mile (125,000 SF, 3,400 seats) in Noblesville, IN. F.A. Wilhelm serving as contractor and Patch Development as developer. 24-month delivery timeline.
• Elness Swenson Graham ArchitectssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for Hotel Indy (76,000 SF, 90 Keys, Tribute Portfolio by Marriott) in Indianapolis.
• Marriott InternationalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHotel brands include Fairfield Inn & Suites, Tribute Portfolio, and Autograph Collection. RATIO designs hotels operating under Marriott brands that franchise the brand and manage operations.
• Marriott's Autograph CollectioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCairoHouse project (390,600 SF, 500 Keys) developed under Marriott's Autograph Collection brand, positioning as a contemporary lifestyle hotel.
• City of MadisonsupportingOthersMunicipal government partner for Fairfield Inn & Suites Madison Historic Eagle Cotton Mill project, receiving Industrial Recovery Tax Credits for adaptive reuse of historic industrial property.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BSA LifeStructures: Indianapolis-based multidisciplinary design firm with comparable size and similar focus on healthcare, higher education, and sports venues. Direct partner with RATIO on the IU Health flagship hospital through the CURIS Design consortium, making it the most direct peer in scale, geography, and practice mix.
• DLR Group: Mid-sized ENR Top 100 design firm with practice areas closely aligned to RATIO's higher education, workplace, healthcare, sports, and civic portfolio. Comparable interdisciplinary service model and similar pursuit of national institutional clients, with somewhat broader geographic reach.
• SmithGroup: Multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering firm with strong higher education, healthcare, and workplace practices. Comparable size and project typology mix, with similar emphasis on sustainability credentials and integrated design delivery.
• HKS: Major design firm with deep healthcare, higher education, and sports/venues practices that closely overlap with RATIO's strongest sectors. Larger scale than RATIO but a direct competitor on the same institutional client pool, especially for hospitals, academic medical centers, and athletic facilities.
• Moody Nolan: ENR Top 100 design firm with comparable size, Midwest roots, and similar practice diversity spanning higher education, healthcare, sports venues, and residential. Closely aligned peer in scale, geography, and pursuit of institutional clients.
• SLAM Collaborative: Multi-discipline architecture firm with strong higher education, healthcare, and science practices. Direct association partner with RATIO on Notre Dame's Campus Crossroads, making it a directly comparable peer in size and practice mix.
• William Rawn Associates: Architecture firm with strong higher education, residential, and civic/cultural practice. Direct association partner with RATIO on IU's Walnut Grove Center, indicating directly comparable higher education client work and similar firm scale.

Broad incumbents

• HOK: Global design, architecture, and engineering practice with major healthcare, higher education, and sports practices. Direct association partner with RATIO on Eskenazi Health, positioning HOK as a larger incumbent whose scale typically exceeds RATIO on flagship institutional commissions.
• Gensler: Largest global design firm with broad workplace, hospitality, healthcare, and mixed-use practices. Overlaps with RATIO on workplace, hospitality, and mixed-use commissions but at a substantially larger scale, representing a typical incumbent competitor on enterprise-scale work.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture practice with deep healthcare, higher education, and science & technology practices. Overlaps directly with RATIO on healthcare and higher education sectors and represents a larger, well-capitalized incumbent competitor for institutional RFPs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/85412
• Instagraminstagram.com/ratiodesign
• Facebookfacebook.com/ratioarchitects
• Xx.com/ratioglobal

Compliance15 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RATIO Architects