Inside Severance: The Haunting Interiors of Lumon Industries

In Apple TV+’s Severance, the world of Lumon Industries transcends its role as a mere backdrop—it becomes a character in its own right. The show's set design, characterized by endless green-carpeted hallways and windowless offices, evokes a surreal blend of mid-century optimism and bureaucratic oppression. This aesthetic is deeply rooted in real-world architectural influences, notably the modernist vision of Eero Saarinen’s John Deere Headquarters, completed in 1964.

Lumon’s Office: Where Retro-Futurism Meets Corporate Control

The office, Bell Works, was originally Bell Labs, a historic incubator for telephone technology.

Image Source: Film and Furniture

The Macrodata Refinement (MDR) floor stands out as one of the most iconic spaces in Severance. The expansive green carpet stretches endlessly, absorbing sound and hope. Desks are isolated islands in a sea of sameness, wrapped in low partitions and underlit by fluorescent grids. The design is intentionally non-ergonomic, minimizing individuality.

Every detail reinforces the show's themes:

Neutral, muted tones: Beige walls, mossy greens, and sterile whites create a timeless, placeless void.
Modular furniture: Evoking mid-century modern design but stripped of its warmth.
Brutalist signage: Stark typography and ambiguous labels ("Wellness", "Perpetuity Wing") build corporate mythology.

A Nod to Saarinen: The Real-World Blueprint

Image Source: Reddit - r/ModernistArchitecture

The aesthetic of Lumon doesn't emerge in isolation. The visual team behind Severance cited Eero Saarinen’s design of the John Deere Headquarters in Moline, Illinois, as a significant influence. This connection is evident.

The John Deere building was groundbreaking: the first corporate headquarters constructed entirely of weathering steel (Cor-Ten), set amidst a pastoral landscape. Inside, it balanced the starkness of industrial materials with elegant detailing—glass-walled offices, exposed structural systems, and refined mid-century furniture.

Most importantly, Saarinen believed that design could reflect corporate identity. In Severance, this idea is taken to an extreme. Lumon’s architecture doesn't just reflect the company’s values—it imposes them.

“The building is a metaphor for how deeply work has become embedded in our identities.”– Severance production designer Jeremy Hindle

The Set as Psychological Architecture

Rem Koolhaas coined the term “junkspace” to describe places built for function, not for people.

Image Source: Film and Furniture

The set design subtly evolves throughout the series. As characters begin questioning their roles, they navigate spaces that are darker and more enigmatic:

The Perpetuity Wing resembles a shrine to a totalitarian founder—part memorial, part cult exhibit.
Wellness Room combines calming textures with oppressive intimacy, akin to a therapist’s office in a Cold War bunker.
Break Rooms feel like panopticons—wide, featureless, and primed for surveillance.

The movement through these spaces is crucial. The camera glides behind characters, echoing the surveillance state. The maze-like hallways disorient us. In this world, architecture is both spatial and psychological.

What Designers Can Learn

There's an eerie allure to the Severance aesthetic. While designers might not aim to replicate Lumon's oppressiveness, several lessons emerge:

Use monotony purposefully: Repetition can be calming or unsettling, depending on context.
Lighting defines emotion: Overhead fluorescents flatten expression; strategic shadows add narrative depth.
Mid-century materials, recontextualized: Walnut paneling, leather, and steel can comfort—or alienate.
Narrative integration: Design tells a story, and in Severance, that story is power, identity, and loss.

Final Thoughts

The interiors of Severance are not merely dystopian—they're meticulously designed. Influenced by modernist landmarks like Saarinen’s John Deere HQ, they depict a world where design serves the corporate machine rather than the human spirit. Yet, in their eerie beauty, they challenge us: What kind of spaces are we truly creating—at work, at home, and in between?

Image Credits:

Severance set photos: Film and Furniture
John Deere Headquarters interior: Reddit - r/ModernistArchitecture