About the Film
Mike Judge filmed Office Space in Austin and Las Colinas over a tight production schedule in 1998. This film was his first live-action feature after a decade of animation that included MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head and Fox's King of the Hill. He drew the story directly from his own early-career misery working at a defense contractor in the late '80s, a period he later described as formative in the worst possible way. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox with a marketing campaign that couldn't figure out what it was selling, and it opened to modest numbers in February 1999.
What made the film last — and what made Austin the right place to shoot it — is the specificity of its mediocrity. Judge wasn't after glamour. He needed strip malls and generic office parks and chain restaurants that looked like they could be anywhere, and Austin in the late '90s had plenty of all three. The stretch of Braker Lane that opens the film has been almost entirely transformed since production wrapped; The Domain, Q2 Stadium, and over a decade of development now line the route Peter crept down in stop-and-go traffic. Standing there today, you can feel both what it was and what Austin became, which is exactly the kind of bittersweet observation the film itself is about.
Filming Locations
Peter's Commute
Braker Lane
The work week and film begins with Peter (Livingston) stuck in stop-and-go traffic during rush hour on the way to the office. Judge holds on this wide shot long enough that it stops being funny and starts being painful.
Today: The road is exactly the same road, but the landscape around it has been transformed. Q2 Stadium (home of Austin FC) and The Domain, Austin's open-air retail and mixed-use complex, both sit along this stretch now. You can still drive the commute that opens the film, but instead of the anonymous mid-'90s corridor Judge shot, you're looking at one of Austin's biggest development successes. Confirm current traffic patterns before visiting — this area can get crowded on Austin FC match days, which is either a fitting tribute or a cosmic joke, depending on your mood. Worth pairing with a visit to The Domain for lunch or a game at Q2.
Location: Braker Lane (Braker Lane between Domain Drive and Burnet Road)
Initech
DunAn Microtaq (DMQ) Offices
Judge used the building's bland, low-rise facade repeatedly for exterior shots of Initech — the parking lot, the entrance, the dreary approach. The building was cast specifically because it looked like every generic office park in America, which is why it works so well as Peter's personal hell.
Today: The building still stands and still functions as office space, currently occupied by DunAn Microstaq (DMQ), a MEMS technology company. The exterior looks largely unchanged from what Judge shot in 1998 — same anonymously functional architecture, same parking lot. This is a private commercial property, so the visit is an exterior stop; don't attempt to enter. The building is easily visible and photographable from the parking area and surrounding streets.
Address: 4120 Freidrich Ln, Austin, TX 78744
Peter's & Lawrence's Apartments
Trails of Walnut Creek Apartments & Great Hills Apartments
There were two locations used for the Morningwood Apartment complex where Peter (Livinston) and Lawrence (Bader) lived. The Trails of Walnut Creek Apartments played the exterior of the Morningwood apartment complex, while the exterior close-up shots of both Peter and Lawrence’s shared doorway were filmed at the Great Hills Apartments to give the appearance of close neighboring units. The complexes showcased an overall aesthetic of a place where someone with no ambitions and no complaints would be perfectly content. Diedrich Bader's Lawrence, lifting weights next door and shouting advice through the wall, remains one of the film's most underrated performances.
Today: Both apartments are still operating as residential complexes. This is a private residential property, so visits are limited to the exterior — you can see the building and general layout from the street. The complex looks broadly similar to what appeared in the film. As with any residential visit, be respectful of tenants. Worth combining with the nearby Initech/DMQ building stop, as both are in the north Austin area.
Address: Trails of Walnut Creek Apartments (11511 Metric Blvd, Austin, TX 78758)
Address: Great Hills Apartments (10610 Morado Cir, Austin, TX 78759)
Hypnotherapy Session
Walters Southwest Offices
Peter pulls into a low-key office park building and walks into the session that's supposed to fix his life. The therapist's "HYPNOTHERAPY · DR. SWANSON · Insurance · Anxiety · Weight Loss · Smoking" sign visible through the windshield. It's a perfectly deadpan Austin medical-office facade. The therapist dies mid-induction, leaving Peter blissfully hypnotized for the rest of the film, which is arguably the best thing that ever happened to him.
Today: The building now houses Walters Southwest, a real estate and construction company. The exterior is viewable from the street and recognizable if you know what you're looking for. It's close to UT Austin and centrally located, making it a natural add-on if you're starting your location tour from downtown. The building remains in commercial use; view from exterior only.
Address: 1010 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Austin, TX 78701
Chotchkie’s
Koko's Bavarian
The crew dressed the exterior of what was then a chain restaurant storefront as Chotchkie's — the flair-obsessed TGI Fridays stand-in where Jennifer Aniston's Joanna works and endures the boss's passive-aggressive minimum-flair lectures. The green awning and parking lot entrance seen in the film's establishing exterior shots came from what is now a Chase Bank. Inside, the booths, tchotchke-covered walls, and counter where Joanna endures her boss's flair lectures were all shot inside what is now Koko's Bavarian. The interior has been comprehensively renovated since filming — don't expect the original Chotchkie's decor — but the bones of the space are the same, and the vibe of "chain restaurant purgatory" has been replaced with German beer hall communal tables and 40-plus TVs.
Today: Koko's Bavarian is a 7,000-square-foot beer hall is co-founded by actual Bavarian prince Konstantin Prinz von Bayern. The menu runs from house-made bratwursts and schnitzel to brisket-stuffed jalapeños. The interior has changed dramatically from the Chotchkie's days — no flair in sight — but this is the liveliest and most visitable of all the Office Space locations, and the one most worth building a meal around.
Address: 3003 S. Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704
