NELSON, one of the fast-growing global architecture, interior design, and consulting services firms, has announced its intention to merge operations with Wakefield Beasley & Associates and WB Interiors.

The consolidation of WBA – which is ranked third on Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Top Architecture firms list– with NELSON and WBI – which are ranked third and eighth respectively, in the ABC Top Commercial Interior Firms – will create one of the nation’s largest design firms in the region.

Founded in 1980, WBA offers architectural design services to more than nineteen private and public sector markets. WB Interiors was founded in 1985 to serve as WBA’s interiors partner and has since grown the business to serve clients in more than a dozen separate markets in the southeast and nationally.

By offering architectural and interior design services to a diverse and loyal client base, WBA and WBI have grown their combined professional portfolio and expanded regionally, with offices in Jacksonville, FL, Orlando, FL, Dallas, TX and Charleston, SC.

“WBA and WBI are strong brands with specialized expertise in markets that are complementary to our business,” said Ozzie Nelson, Jr., Chairman and CEO of NELSON. “This strategic merger will take us to the next level in architecture and add manpower and bench strength to our well-established interiors practice. As a combined business, we can increase our capacity to provide client-based and experience-driven integrated design services throughout the Southeast and nationally.”

This merger represents NELSON’s latest strategic move to increase its capacity in the Southeast. The firm has grown 150% in the last five years through comparable acquisitions – including the acquisition of VeenendaalCave in May 2015. With WBA and WBI, NELSON will add nearly 200 employees to its team.

“Culturally, our companies align perfectly,” says Lamar Wakefield, CEO of Wakefield Beasley & Associates and Vice President of WB Interiors. “We both prioritize relationships with our clients to deliver positive outcomes. With NELSON’s resources and national footprint, together, we have a tremendous opportunity to expand into new markets and better serve our clients.”