Since 2007, Kier have built more than 200 new school buildings for the Department of Education. In that time they've learned that, while every site and every school is unique, there are requirements and considerations common to every project.
So, Kier have applied their unrivalled school-building experience to the development of a intuitive and flexible design platform - kSchool. It applies standardised design strategies in a flexible way - to enable the creation of a unique school that is "tailored to client needs and compliant with all the latest Department for Education (DfE) specifications".
"Not only does this project further evidence our expertise in delivering state-of-the-art sustainable schools but also demonstrates our innovative kSchool design platform."
Andy Bolas, Kier Construction
They call this approach ‘standardised flexology’ - to express how standardised options can be 'flexed' to personalise individual schools. This platform gives construction companies access to a set of school building blocks, that can be arranged to best fit the site and the unique requirements of the client. Ensuring that, on the outside, it makes the best use of the landscape, and on the inside is fit for teaching, today and for years to come.
A visual explanation was the obvious choice for Kier, who commissioned our animation team to create a two-minute product demo of the tool. It was designed to quickly and simply communicate the benefits of the kSchool system to architects, designers, local authorities and head teachers. The animation needed to speak to a technical audience, as well as the teachers and head teachers who understand their school's needs better than anyone
We created a 2-minute animation for the kSchool launch that packs in lots of information for the different audiences. It walks the viewer through how the toolkit works, the benefits for everyone involved in the construction, and most importantly, the children who will be living and learning in those schools for years to come.
Stills from this video were then seeded through the webpage, across social media and future presentations to help spread the word about this innovative new tool. Take a look at the finished animation:
kSchool technology is already at the heart of several school-building projects, with our animation doing the heavy-lifting when it comes to explaining how Kier's 'standardised flexology' can help.
Speaking of an exciting new project underway at Katharine Lady Berkeley School in Gloucestershire, one of the country's oldest state schools, Kier's Andy Bolas, says: “Providing 21st Century accommodation is a real honour and something that we, as a Gloucestershire-based business, are incredibly proud of.
“Not only does this project further evidence our expertise in delivering state-of-the-art sustainable schools but also demonstrates our innovative kSchool design platform.”