The Bell Works building in 2018, which is now one of the filming locations for Apple TV+’s Severance. Photo: Onyx Solar
The stark, brutalist building that Mark S. enters every day to transition to work as his “Innie” on Apple TV+’s hit show Severance is actually the former headquarters of Bell Labs, with roots to the invention of the first commercial solar cell.
Solar Power World wrote a case study on the building’s transformation back in 2018. It was a historic building then, but now is also famous as the set of Lumon’s headquarters, a company that “severs” its employees’ brains so their inner work persona is completely separate from their outward realities.
The first commercial solar cell was invented by scientists at Bell Labs just outside New York City in 1954. In the 1960s, Bell Labs headquarters moved to Holmdel, New Jersey, where the Severance scenes are filmed now.
Mark S. enters Lumon headquarters in the Apple TV+ show Severance. Photo: IMDb
The new name of the 2-million-ft2 building is Bell Works. Somerset Development transformed the once-abandoned hub of invention into a tech-forward, multi-use “metroburb,” which contains offices, retail, dining and more. Now it has IMDb credits too.
Lighting on the Severance set is assisted by the longest PV glass skylight currently in the United States, illuminating the quarter-mile long atrium with natural light. Abender Electric completed the installation and electrical work back in the 2010s using Onyx Solar Energy’s glass solar panels.
“They really needed to replace the skylight because it was leaking everywhere,” Diego Cuevas, VP of global business development for the Americas at Onyx Solar Energy, told SPW in 2018. “It was really old. So the important thing for them was to maintain and preserve the same aesthetics as the original skylight.”
Photo: Onyx Solar
The solar skylight glass has a light gray coloring to match the original installation, but it’s still almost fully transparent. The entire skylight generates up to 175 kW of solar power and works well under low-light conditions and a range of temperatures.
This futuristic and slightly spooky lighting pairs well with the mysterious and important work of the Macrodata Refinement team.
Praise Kier.
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