REES’ “Let’s Get Kraken” Sand Sculpture wins multiple awards at AIA Houston Sandcastle Competition
This past weekend REES participated in the AIA Houston Sandcastle Competition in Galveston, Texas, earning two coveted titles – Best in Category (Animal Kingdom) and Best Team T-Shirt Design. This was REES’ first year to participate.
Thirty-two firms from across the Houston area had only five hours to construct a sandcastle using 15 cubic yards of sand. REES constructed and sculpted its sandcastle using only yard tools, buckets and their bare hands.
REES’ “Let’s Get Kraken” featured a giant octopus guarding its bounty from a ship it had wrecked. Its tentacles wrapped around a canon, cannonballs, a treasure chest, a barrel of rum and a skeleton.
Teams battled the elements as Hurricane Grace’s presence in the Gulf made for a much higher tide than normal. Teams often found the surf washing right up to their sandcastle plots washing away parts of their sandcastles throughout the day.
The 34th Annual AIA Houston Sandcastle Competition returned after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic. The yearly competition is often touted as one of the largest sandcastle competitions in the world with thousands of visitors descending on Galveston’s East Beach to watch the competition.
We did something we thought would be organic.
We didn’t use any formwork. We sculpted it straight from the pile of sand we were given.
Daniel Williams – “Let’s Get Kraken” REES Team Member