Where is the real-life Lumon building from in Severance? Location and other details explored
The Apple TV+ series Severance has been a hit since it first debuted on February 18, 2022. The dystopian workplace thriller is currently airing its second season, which premiered on January 17, 2025. It is created by Dan Erickson, with Ben Stiller serving as the show's executive producer and one of its directors.
The series centers around Lumon Industries and its employees, played by Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, John Turturro, Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken, etc. The imposing Lumon building seen in Severance is a sprawling building complex in Holmdel, New Jersey called Bell Works.
The show's official synopsis, as per Apple TV, reads:
"Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives; when a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs."
Everything to know about the Lumon building in Severance
The exterior shots and some interior scenes of Lumon's headquarters from Severance are filmed at the Bell Works building in Holmdel, New Jersey. It is situated just an hour's drive away from New York City.
The imposing, glass-and-steel structure dates back to 1962, when it was known as Bell Labs. The two million-square-foot complex was designed by the architect Eero Saarinen as a research and development division of AT&T. The building complex was the center of technological innovation in the mid-20th century, playing a crucial role in the development of cell phones, lasers, and also the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation.
Furthermore, the researchers working at Bell Labs have won nine Nobel Prize awards for their contribution to scientific innovation in various fields.
However, the once-thriving building complex ran into disuse in the 1980s after AT&T went through corporate restructuring and was entirely abandoned in 2007. It was relaunched as Bell Works, six years later in 2013, replete with modern office spaces, retail stores, event venues, and restaurants. Moreover, architects, Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo, contributed to the building's latest look in the 1980s.
The show's production designer, Jeremy Hindle, praised the original design of Bell Labs by telling Curbed magazine in January 2025:
"They really did try to create this perfect working, living world. People had dance shows, their own farmers’ markets — they had everything in that place."
The building's parking lot has appeared in multiple scenes in Severance when the protagonist Mark Scout (Adam Scott) shows up to work in the morning. Its magnificent interior is captured when he walks through the grand entrance and passes under the skylit central atrium. The atrium, once surrounded by greenery, is seen before Mark heads downstairs to take the elevator to the severed floor.
One of the show's pivotal moments, when Helena (Britt Lower) gets the severance chip implanted in her brain, was filmed inside Bell Works' contemporary spaces.
Moreover, Bell Works is open to the public seven days a week. Die-hard fans of the show can enjoy the thrill of walking through the same hallways as their favorite characters absolutely free of cost.
Also read: All Severance Season 1 & 2 filming locations, explored
A look at the interiors of Lumon as seen in Severance
Hindle told Variety in April 2022 that he took inspiration for Lumon's look and feel from the John Deere World Headquarters in Moline, Illinois. The building complex was designed by Saarinen and Kevin Roche in 1964.
Hindle also mentioned that he created the interior office spaces, including the maze-like hallways and the MDR department, on three soundstages in New York. He designed the MDR office as a "playground of sorts," since most of the action from season 1 unfolds in this space. It measures 80 by 40 feet and has really low ceilings to convey the feeling of being trapped, as felt by the MDR team members.
Furthermore, he said that the mix of sterile white walls and deep green carpets was a conscious decision to replicate the characters' sense of survival.
"Green is the most common color to your eye, like that's the theory that it's calming, it makes you feel calm. Some of the colors, the theories were kind of who they are as characters and what they needed to survive. I think green is something you need to survive," he said.
All episodes of Severance can be streamed exclusively on Apple TV+.
