From powering the city to powering new models of leadership

Saïd Business School might be a new addition to an ancient university, but it has already created a lasting legacy in the regeneration of the west side of Oxford. It’s therefore fitting that our next project is deeply embedded in history as we undertake the redevelopment of Osney Power Station and bring it back into active use as the School’s new Executive Education centre: the award-winning Global Leadership Centre.

The Global Leadership Centre will enable the delivery of enhanced Executive Education programmes, increase the global profile of the School, and elevate it as an international centre of education.

Providing the physical set up to match the quality of taught content, and spaces that future-proof Executive Education, the development will provide a networking space for our whole community, enable lifelong learning, and facilitate research-driven leadership. The project crucially revitalises an architectural gem of Oxford which will benefit the surrounding community. 

Investing in Executive Education is an investment in our School as a whole – the new site will enrich the activities and opportunities available in other parts of the School, increase cross-fertilisation, and allow for collaboration and congregation. 

Osney Power Station has led an eclectic life. Opening as the first power station supplying electricity to Oxford in 1892, it remained operational until 1968, after which it was acquired by the University and used as a research laboratory for the Department of Engineering Science.

Due to its status as a Local Heritage Asset, the development has been sympathetically planned, with the scheme requiring: a sub-structure to compensate for possible medieval finds from the site of the nearby Osney Abbey; compliance with the Carfax Tower height constraints; and a design that retains the scale and aesthetic and respects the industrial nature of the building.

Designed to facilitate the challenging conversations and practical innovation that will catalyse system change, the Global Leadership Centre will power new models of leadership: a fitting new life for a building that once powered the city of Oxford.