The last project by the late co-founder of Apple Steve Jobs is nearing completion and it is already looking like a stunning example of cutting edge commercial architecture. The new headquarters of the company in Cupertino, California, is expected to be unveiled this spring. It will be an exciting moment.

The plans for the property were first revealed in 2011, with the aim to create a symbolic headquarters with a design that captured the global nature of the brand. The work subsequently got pushed back a number of times though. This included a big delay due to the long approval process.

When finished it is anticipated the headquarters will have cost an incredible $5 billion, with $1 billion of this set aside for the interior of the main building alone. A great deal of attention to detail has gone into the design, even down to inspecting the thousands of ceiling tiles individually to ensure they were perfect. The aim is for it to be as flawless as one of Apple’s celebrated hand-held devices.

Apple used their in-house construction team on the project. Many months were spent focusing on all kinds of tiny details. During the design phase they had countless rules to adhere to including that all pipes and vents must be hidden so they don’t get reflected in the glass facade. This in itself is the largest piece of curved glass in the world.

Once up and running the headquarters, already being referred to as a space ship for its continuous circular design, will be home to thousands of employees. In a 2013 project description this number was stated as 14,200.

The new Apple headquarters has definitely had a huge impact on commercial architecture, rewriting many of the rules and showing what can be achieved with incredible focus.

Many people are excited to see more of the building when it is finally finished, particularly with so little revealed already. The people involved in the work, including the architects and contractors, have had to sign non-disclosure agreements so they don’t divulge details. Apple don’t want this to spoil the reveal when it finally comes.