Baiterek is a monument and observation tower in Astana, designed by Akmurza Rustembekov with chief structural engineer Mark Vaynshtein. The project was launched on President Nursultan Nazarbayev's initiative, from his sketch, and developed by the Union of Architects of Kazakhstan. Construction ran from October 25, 1996 to August 30, 2002.
A narrow cylindrical shaft rises from a wide base on a raised plaza, and white branch-like girders flare out to hold a gold-mirrored sphere about 72 feet (22 m) in diameter. The spire reaches 344 feet (105 m), and the observation deck sits at 318 feet (97 m). The article names no style or structural material.
Two lifts run up the shaft to a two-level deck inside the sphere. A gilded handprint of Nazarbayev's right hand marks the upper level. The base has a ticket booth and exhibition space, and the article says it was renovated in 2017 without giving details.
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