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A team of staffers from SRG Partnership and PAE Consulting Engineers built the winning sand sculpture Friday in Yoshida’s Sand in the City competition at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

The 14-member team’s sculpture, “30,000 Leagues Under the Square,” was inspired by the book and movie “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and the 30th anniversary of Pioneer Courthouse Square, PAE associate Zachary Suchara said.

A team from Nike placed second and team Ultimate Ears was third; twelve teams competed.

The most prominent feature of the sculpture by the SRG and PAE team is a giant squid eating a submarine. Staffers from both firms spent a couple of months planning the project, including producing renderings and models with clay and using digital software, Suchara said. The team also took advantage of SRG Partnership’s 3-D printer to produce specialized tools for jobs like forming the suckers on the squid’s tentacles.

Team members then spent about eight hours constructing the sculpture on Friday. It was on display at Pioneer Courthouse Square through Sunday.

“Everybody just came together; it was neat,” Suchara said. “You get about halfway through the day and you don’t think anything will come of it and then it just forms before your eyes.”

The annual three-day Sand in the City event raises money for Kids on the Block, a nonprofit that uses puppet shows to educate children of the importance of accepting people with disabilities.

Hoffman Construction and ZGF Architects also participated in the competition.