With a belief that they’re “better together,” Huntsville design firms Goodwyn Mills Cawood and Matheny Goldmon have joined forces.

The two firms announced the acquisition Wednesday. The new GMC team will move into the Matheny Goldmon office on Woodson Street before the end of the year.

“We truly believe we’re better together,” Matheny Goldmon Principal Paul Matheny said. “Our motivator has always been building relationships and creating wonderful places that we can experience together.

“Joining GMC will allow us to continue to do that, with additional services and a greater depth of resources to provide to our clients.”

The idea of a partnership began about two years ago around talk of a new Madison County Courthouse. The firms discussed joining to pursue the courthouse project.

The courthouse was built in 1967, replacing the 1914-constructed county courthouse.

“Ultimately, we both believed our combined expertise had potential to yield the best outcome for Madison County with respect to delivering a project of this magnitude,” GMC CEO Jeffrey Brewer said. “We had never worked on a project with the Matheny Goldmon team before, but we knew the caliber of their work and had utmost respect for their leadership and talent.”

The partnership proved to be a success when the Madison County Commission awarded a $6.8 million architectural and engineering contract in March to Goodwyn Mills Cawood who were to work with Matheny Goldmon. The project is expected to take five years and cost $100 million.

“Finding out how well we complement each other and work together as teammates has been particularly gratifying through this process,” Matheny said. “We’ve developed genuine respect and admiration for one another, so making this partnership official felt natural.”

The firms have been working on integration plans to ensure a smooth transition for their teams and clients over the next few months.

Boasting more than 700 employees throughout the Southeast, GMC is one of the region’s largest and most comprehensive architecture and engineering firms.

GMC’s Huntsville office, established in 2007, is part of a multistate network and relies on its ability to combine local knowledge with a deep bench of expertise to best serve its clients.

The firm’s in-house services include architecture, interior design, civil engineering, environmental services, landscape architecture, planning, transportation engineering, coastal engineering, geotechnical engineering, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering and disaster recovery.

GMC has designed major projects throughout the Southeast including Huntsville City Hall, the new Alabama State House, the Auburn University STEM and Agricultural Complex, Mobile Arena and Gulf Shores High School.

Established in 2006 by Matheny and Marc Goldmon, the firm offers architectural and interior design services for a wide range of projects, serving private, public and government clients.

With offices in Huntsville and Nashville, Matheny Goldmon has 30 professionals with a diverse portfolio spanning government, commercial office, retail, educational, religious, industrial, civic and interior design projects.

Matheny Goldmon has designed some of the area’s most recognizable projects, including the Orion Amphitheater, Eloise McDonald Propst Guest Center at the Huntsville Botanical Garden, Mars Music Hall and The Garage at Clinton Row.