16/06/2026
This year, we are excited to have four projects in the running for the 2026 Master Builders Victoria Excellence in Construction Awards, across five categories.
An incredible addition to the TarraWarra Estate, showcasing a highly technical and carefully coordinated delivery, the Eva and Marc Besen Centre has been entered into both the Excellence in Construction of Commercial Buildings $20m–$50m and Excellence in Construction of Community Facility categories. With its strong focus on community connection and creativity, Balam Balam Place – a vibrant creative and community hub in the heart of Brunswick – has been submitted in the Excellence in Construction of a Community Facility category. Showcasing our experience in heritage restoration, 425 Collins Street has been entered into the Excellence in Construction of Commercial Historical Restoration/Renovation category. Finally, Drouin Primary School has been submitted in the Excellence in Community Engagement category, highlighting the project’s strong social, community and regional impact.
Let’s take a closer look at each project and the detailed insights behind their delivery.
EVA AND MARC BESEN CENTRE
The Eva and Marc Besen Centre (EMBC), located within the TarraWarra Estate in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, is a new cultural facility providing permanent storage, exhibition space and public engagement opportunities for a collection of more than 300 modern and contemporary artworks.
Integrated into the steep landscape and adjacent to the TarraWarra Museum of Art, the building extends the estate’s cultural offering while responding carefully to its sensitive topography. Accessed via rooftop parking and a landscaped arrival sequence, it is designed as both a destination and connector within the broader estate. Built on a constrained, sloping site with existing operational facilities, the project required precise staging, temporary works planning and careful management of operational interfaces. The structure is defined by exposed concrete, curved precast façade elements, a central spiral stair, and a 46-metre glazed wall forming part of a controlled, secure art storage environment.
The project’s greatest technical challenge lay in its continuous curved geometry and extremely tight tolerance requirements. With virtually no square elements throughout the building, every structural, façade and interior interface required millimetre-accurate coordination, survey control and fabrication. Compounding this complexity, the exposed concrete structure served as the final architectural finish, leaving no opportunity to conceal inconsistencies or construction tolerances. Curved precast panels, thermally broken glazing systems, the woven mesh façade, and custom internal elements all demanded architectural-grade precision across every stage of delivery.
Supporting the Centre’s role as a museum-grade facility, the artwork storage environment demanded an exceptionally high level of environmental performance and technical coordination. Designed to preserve and protect the art collection, the space operates within tightly controlled conditions for temperature, humidity, airtightness, acoustics, thermal stability and security, all continuously monitored through a fully integrated Building Management System. The HVAC system incorporates dedicated air-handling units, chillers, heat pumps and in-floor return air grilles to maintain a stable microclimate with minimal fluctuation, while the airtight, thermally broken building envelope further protects the collection from environmental change. Given the sensitivity of the artworks, the space also features museum-grade security infrastructure, UPS-backed monitoring systems and advanced Honeywell VESDA aspirating smoke detection, capable of identifying fire signatures through continuous air sampling well before visible smoke develops. Together, these systems deliver a highly controlled conservation environment aligned with international museum standards.
At a community level, the EMBC strengthens TarraWarra’s role as a long-term cultural hub, with flexible public spaces supporting exhibitions, education programs, performances and gatherings. The Sculpture Walk links the museum, winery and surrounding landscape, encouraging public access and informal engagement. Internally, the gallery, reception and multipurpose areas enable year-round programming for diverse user groups including organisations such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Australian National Academy of Music.
The Eva and Marc Besen Centre is a technically sophisticated facility that delivers immense cultural value, and stands as a significant landmark project for McCorkell.
The project has already received multiple awards at both state and national level, including the William Wardell Award for Public Architecture from the Australian Institute of Architects. Fingers crossed we can add to this list!
BALAM BALAM PLACE
Balam Balam Place represents the transformation of a long-standing civic and cultural precinct into a contemporary community hub that meaningfully blends heritage fabric with new civic infrastructure. The redevelopment reimagines the former school site, including the historic 1888 heritage-listed house and the former Siteworks and Blak Dot Gallery, into a unified destination for arts, culture, and community life in Brunswick.
At its core, the project delivers a restored heritage building sensitively integrated with a new five-storey, L-shaped structure, together forming a cohesive precinct that supports creative industries, community services, and public gathering. The facility includes the revitalised Blak Dot Gallery, creative studios, multipurpose community rooms, commercial tenancies, a café, and maternal and child health facilities, alongside flexible workspaces designed for both short and long-term hire. An additional 2,500m² of public open space extends the building’s reach into the landscape, enabling events, informal recreation, and community connection.
A key outcome of the redevelopment is the seamless connection between old and new. The heritage building has been carefully restored and reactivated, while the contemporary addition provides the scale, flexibility, and infrastructure required to support a growing and diverse community. Along with the main South Building and the Heritage House, Steps is an undercover open-air space made from a re-purposed building shell and remnant of the site’s former school. The unique area supports creative and community events as well as informal gathering.
Now operated by These Are The Projects We Do Together on behalf of Merri-bek City Council, Balam Balam Place provides affordable, adaptable spaces that ensure ongoing access for artists, local groups, and the broader community – embedding the site as a long-term civic and cultural asset for Brunswick.
In essence, projects like Balam Balam Place are at the heart of our capability – complex, community-driven redevelopments that restore and extend the life of iconic civic assets, ensuring they remain relevant, resilient, and valued for generations to come.
425 COLLINS STREET
Originally designed by Bates, Smart and McCutcheon and constructed between 1929 and 1931, 425 Collins Street is one of Melbourne’s most significant examples of interwar commercial architecture. Positioned on a prominent CBD corner and listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, the building remains an important part of the city’s architectural identity.
McCorkell was engaged to deliver a comprehensive restoration of the building’s façade and internal heritage features, with a strong focus on preserving as much original fabric as possible while improving the long-term durability of the asset. Extensive conservation works were undertaken across the sandstone façade, including salt extraction, epoxy crack injection, mortar repairs and the stabilisation of deteriorated stonework. Where replacement stone was required, like-for-like sandstone was sourced from the closest matching quarry and fabricated to accurately replicate the original detailing and profiles using historic photographs and archival records.
The project required innovative construction methodologies to work within strict heritage constraints, including the development of custom fixing systems that avoided any new penetrations into the original sandstone façade. Traditional craftsmanship was paired with modern technology throughout the restoration process, with intricate carvings recreated using CNC milling and hand-finishing by skilled stonemasons. Internally, heritage elements including brass handrails, sandstone staircases, timber parquetry flooring and wall tiling were carefully restored, ensuring the building’s historic character continues to support its contemporary commercial use.
Projects like 425 Collins Street reflect our long-standing expertise in heritage restoration and our commitment to preserving iconic buildings through careful, considered restoration that protects their cultural significance and ensures their longevity for future generations.
DROUIN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Delivered as part of the Victorian School Building Authority’s ongoing investment in education infrastructure, the Drouin Primary School Modernisation Project replaced outdated temporary buildings with contemporary permanent facilities designed to support the school’s future growth. The project included a new two-storey Community Hub featuring learning areas, breakout spaces, a music room and a full-sized competition-grade gymnasium, alongside a new Administration Building, upgraded outdoor courts, an undercover asphalt court, and landscaped community spaces. All works were delivered within a live school environment, requiring careful staging, communication and coordination to minimise disruption to students, staff and the broader school community.
Beyond the physical works, the project placed a strong emphasis on social procurement, regional engagement and workforce inclusion, delivering measurable outcomes for the local Gippsland community and broader Victorian construction industry. Through proactive engagement with local suppliers, targeted workforce initiatives and strong partnerships with social enterprises, the project exceeded several key social procurement commitments while contributing meaningful long-term economic and social benefits.
Key project outcomes included:
- Over $3.5 million invested into the Gippsland regional economy
- 123 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged throughout the project
- More than $900,000 spent with social benefit suppliers
- 8% of total project labour hours delivered by Victorian Aboriginal people and disadvantaged Victorians
- 44% of management, supervisory and specialist labour hours undertaken by women
- Five Gippsland-based staff engaged on the project
The project also supported long-term employment and skills development pathways through initiatives including McCorkell’s Pathways Program, which provided emerging industry professionals with practical on-site experience. Combined with a strong focus on local procurement, inclusive employment and community connection, Drouin Primary School reflects McCorkell’s broader commitment to delivering projects that create lasting value beyond the built outcome itself.
From the Yarra Valley to Melbourne’s CBD and regional Victoria, these four projects represent some of our most significant and complex work completed over the past 18 months. Each is a landmark in its own right, showcasing our capability across cultural, civic, heritage and education sectors.
Fingers crossed for these projects at the Master Builders Victoria Excellence in Construction Awards on August 7th!
Images: Leo Showell, Chalk Studio, Ben Galli & Derek Swalwell.
Related posts
Vietnamese Museum Australia: Bringing Culture, Community and History to Life
Vietnamese Museum Australia: Bringing Culture, Community and History to Life
McCorkell WA’s Youth and Industry Exploration Day 2026
McCorkell WA’s Youth and Industry Exploration Day 2026
McCorkell WA Recognised as ‘Best Contractor’ at 2025 Supplier Performance Awards