Situated in the Western Bank campus, it is joined by a skyway to University House and comprises an eight-sided auditorium with a capacity of 1,500 (1,000 seated), offices, meeting rooms, and a lounge with bar and patio.

The Octagon is used for a variety of purposes, including examinations, lectures, graduation ceremonies, conferences, music concerts and club nights.

By early 1963, the funding was revoked because a theatre building was no longer considered a priority for the university given other pressures arising from construction underway at the time.

[1] By 1981 the university had made plans to build a new venue at a cost of £1.75 million, which was considered to be inappropriate expenditure at a time of tight funding.

[2] The Octagon Centre consists of a main auditorium known as the Convocation Hall to the north, with offices and meeting rooms in corridors across two floors at a lower elevation on the southern side of the building.

[12] There is a direct connection to the Supertram network at the station via an overbridge, which allows onward travel to the Octagon Centre via the University of Sheffield tram stop.