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MIAMI — What happens when you add 1,800 tons of sand, 19 expert sculptors and three weeks of work? One major world record.
In honor of their new flight from Istanbul to Miami, Turkish Airlines took it upon themselves to crumble the existing record for world's tallest sandcastle by building what creative director for the project, Damon Langlois, called an "imagination castle."
According to ABC news, the sandy sculpture, officially measured Monday, stood at a final height of 45 feet, 10.25 inches tall. The previous record-holder was a little over 4 feet shorter, coming in at 41 feet, 3.67 inches.
"By the very nature of Guinness World Records we witness exciting achievements on a daily basis in front of iconic landmarks worldwide," said Phillip Robertson, adjudicator of GWR. "It's rare that we find a superbly detailed sandcastle that replicates so many wonderful cities and achieves a Guinness World Records title. Officially amazing."
The project started three weeks prior on historic Virginia Key Beach in Key Biscayne. According to USA Today, Sand Sculpture Company — which has seven Guinness World Records of its own to date — was brought in to manage the massive creative venture.
As part of our Miami flight celebrations, we've built a record-breaking sandcastle in Miami! #WelcometoMIApic.twitter.com/6Xd9C6kER8 — Turkish Airlines (@TurkishAirlines) October 26, 2015
It took a week to pile and shape the sand and an additional two weeks to sculpt it, Langlois told the AFP News Agency.
Langlois made it clear that the project was no simple task.
"When you're working at such great heights with sand, it's still just sand and water, so gravity, weather, time are all your enemies," he said. "When you're up there, you need to have creative freedom and creative engineering in order to make it stand."
Appropriately, the sculpture features some of the greatest global man-made structures from the Statue of Liberty, Taj Mahal and Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The inaugural Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Miami is scheduled for Sunday.
The sandcastle, obviously, is a temporary beach feature, but the sculptors expect it to stand for three or more weeks, barring any malicious human interference.
