For fans of “Severance,” the hit Apple TV+ thriller about a mysterious corporation where employees’ minds are literally split between work and personal life, the unsettling world of Lumon Industries feels like a dystopian nightmare.
But what if you could step inside that cold, corporate labyrinth in real life?
Well, you can.
The imposing, glass-and-steel headquarters of Lumon isn’t just a Hollywood set — it’s a real building in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Known today as Bell Works, the massive complex was once Bell Labs, the research and development arm of AT&T.
Built in 1962 and designed by famed architect Eero Saarinen, the sprawling mid-century structure was a futuristic hub of scientific innovation. It’s where some of the most important technological advancements of the 20th century — including the laser, the cell phone and even the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation — were developed.
Bell Labs was so influential that its researchers won nine Nobel Prizes. But after AT&T’s corporate restructuring in the 1980s and the breakup of the Bell System, the once-thriving institution began to fade.
By 2007, Bell Labs had been abandoned, sitting empty for years — until developers stepped in.
In 2013, the building was repurposed into a modern mixed-use space with offices, retail stores, restaurants and event venues, reopening as Bell Works.
While the new iteration embraces its past, its transformation is a far cry from its original vision as a cutting-edge research facility. It was that blend of history and eerie, corporate grandeur that made Bell Works the perfect setting for “Severance.”
Though much of the show is filmed on soundstages, key exterior shots and select interior scenes were shot at Bell Works, making it an essential pilgrimage site for die-hard fans.
The moment Mark (Adam Scott) pulls into the vast, symmetrical parking lot or walks through the grand, mirrored entrance, viewers are stepping inside a real, tangible place.
The show’s unsettling world may be fictional, but its architecture is very real.
Production designer Jeremy Hindle was instantly drawn to Bell Works for its imposing aesthetic, which seamlessly aligned with the show’s themes of corporate control and psychological isolation.
“They really did try to create this perfect working, living world,” Hindle told Curbed of Bell Labs’ original design. “People had dance shows, their own farmers’ markets — they had everything in that place.”
Of course, in “Severance,” Lumon’s corporate world is anything but utopian.
The building’s gleaming, reflective glass, long symmetrical hallways and cavernous spaces take on a more sinister tone, reinforcing the show’s theme of workers trapped in a system that strips them of autonomy.
The labyrinthine severed floor, where employees are cut off from their outside identities, was built on a soundstage, but the overall aesthetic owes much to Saarinen’s mid-century vision.
For those paying close attention, Bell Works appears in several key moments throughout the series.
The atrium — once home to 3,600 trees, shrubs and plants — makes an appearance when Mark arrives at work.
Another eerie sequence shows Helly R. (Britt Lower) receiving her brain implant inside one of the building’s more sterile, modernist spaces. Even the parking lot plays a crucial role, where Mark finds a note on his windshield — a breadcrumb in the show’s growing mystery.
The best part? Unlike Mark and his fellow Macro Data Refinement team members, you won’t need a brain implant or a severance procedure to explore the building.
Bell Works is open to the public, and visitors can freely walk through the same hallways seen in “Severance,” marvel at its towering glass facade or grab a coffee from one of its on-site cafes.
Located just an hour from New York City, the facility has transformed into a lively hub where people work, shop and dine.
But despite the modern updates, there’s still an eerie familiarity for “Severance” fans.
The mid-century architecture, the vast symmetrical spaces and the sterile, corporate atmosphere all remain intact — making it feel like Lumon Industries could be operating just below the surface.
For those looking to immerse themselves in the world of “Severance,” Bell Works offers the closest experience possible. You can stand where Mark stood, walk the same halls as Helly and take in the unsettling grandeur of a place that, in another timeline, might have been your workplace — minus the memory-erasing microchip, of course.
And, thankfully, when you leave, you’ll still remember every second of your visit.
