Built on Trust: Delivering Three Projects for Haileybury

02/03/2026

At McCorkell Constructions, we often speak about being a safe set of hands.

For us, that phrase goes beyond technical capability or program certainty – it speaks to trust, collaboration, and a shared commitment to achieving the best possible outcome for our clients. Few partnerships reflect this more clearly than our ongoing relationship with Haileybury, developed through the successful delivery of three projects across their Keysborough and Brighton campuses over the past few years.

Laying the Foundations: Pavilion & Chapel Annexe, Keysborough

The Haileybury Keysborough Pavilion & Chapel Annexe marked the beginning of our recent construction journey with the school and set the tone for everything that followed. Delivered within a live and highly active campus environment, the project required careful planning, a collaborative mindset, and an uncompromising focus on stakeholder management.

Positioned with a commanding view over the sports oval, the Langford Pavilion was designed as a highly flexible, multi-purpose facility supporting both academic and extracurricular life at the Keysborough campus. The upper level comprises an expansive open-plan space suitable for student classes, gatherings, and sports events, complemented by a covered balcony that provides prime viewing over the oval. At ground level, the pavilion accommodates a multi-functional gym, a suite of change rooms, first aid facilities, and amenities.

Constructed in harmony with the adjacent heritage-listed David Bradshaw Chapel, the project also included a new music annexe comprising a large rehearsal room, seven private practice rooms, a staff office, and associated amenities.

Extensive landscaping and hardscaping works formed an integral part of the project, including amphitheatre seating, stairways, and a sunken courtyard entry to the pavilion. Throughout delivery, our team worked closely with Haileybury, consultants, and subcontractors to ensure the new facilities integrated seamlessly into the campus fabric, balancing contemporary functionality with respect for the school’s architectural heritage.

More importantly, the Pavilion & Chapel Annexe established trust. It demonstrated our ability to operate effectively in live environments, manage complex interfaces, and deliver a result aligned with the school’s vision. That trust would soon lead to further opportunities.

Expanding Creative Spaces: Visual Arts Building, Keysborough

Following the successful completion of the Pavilion & Chapel Annexe, McCorkell was engaged under an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) procurement model to deliver Haileybury’s new Visual Arts Building at the Keysborough campus. This approach allowed us to contribute our construction expertise early, working collaboratively with the client and design team to refine buildability, program, and cost outcomes.

The two-storey facility was designed to support the expansion of Haileybury’s visual and creative arts curriculum, providing a purpose-built environment for art, media, and visual communication studies. The ground floor incorporates a flexible gallery space for exhibitions, classes, and events, while the first floor comprises specialised classrooms, dedicated support offices, and state-of-the-art media facilities.

Delivering the project within an existing structure and above an operational café presented significant challenges, including undocumented structural conditions, in-ground service conflicts with the new lift pit, and extensive floor preparation works. Located in the heart of the Keysborough campus, the project required detailed logistical planning to manage deliveries and construction activities around daily school operations, while maintaining continuous café operations. Fire-rating works were carefully planned and executed during a two-week holiday period to meet tight deadlines without disruption.

The Visual Arts Building stands as a strong example of how early collaboration and trust can drive better project outcomes – technically, programmatically, and experientially.

Strengthening the Relationship: Canopy & Deck, Brighton

Building on the success of two projects at Keysborough, McCorkell was again engaged under an ECI model to deliver the Canopy & Deck Project at Haileybury’s Brighton campus. This project further strengthened our relationship with the school and demonstrated the value of continuity and collaboration across multiple sites.

The works involved the construction of a new tiered canopy structure, deck, and lift, creating compliant access between multiple senior school buildings at both ground and first-floor levels. The project required the careful demolition of existing campus areas, followed by the creation of new sheltered pathways, ground-level decking, and an elevated steel structure, complemented by service upgrades and extensive landscaping.

Working within a constrained and fully operational campus environment, the project demanded expert planning and stakeholder coordination. Latent ground conditions encountered during piling – including a high water table – required a complete reassessment of the pile design. By working closely with geotechnical engineers and the piling contractor, our team developed a revised solution that maintained the program and minimised additional costs to the client.

A standout initiative on this project was the development of a stakeholder-centred site procedure tailored to the live school environment. The procedure addressed traffic management, delivery timing, crane lifts, and noise restrictions, and was reviewed and endorsed by all stakeholders. This approach not only ensured safety and minimised disruption but also established a best-practice framework now referenced for future works across Haileybury campuses.

A Partnership Built on Trust

Across all three projects, a consistent thread has underpinned our work with Haileybury: collaboration, transparency, and a shared commitment to quality. From traditional delivery through to ECI procurement, our approach has focused on understanding our client’s needs, anticipating challenges, and going above and beyond to deliver outcomes that stand the test of time.

Repeat engagements are never taken for granted. They are earned through trust, performance, and relationships built project by project. Our work with Haileybury is a proud example of what can be achieved when teams work together with a common goal – and of what it truly means to be a safe set of hands.