As part of the project, Harris visited twenty-one theatres and opera houses in West Germany and Switzerland. But owing to delays, rising costs and problems with the design, the project was eventually abandoned, with the site remaining vacant until the late 1980s. The failure of the opera house has often been cited as an example of a white elephant.

His other projects included Hyvot's Bank Primary School (including the janitor's house, the design of which was based on Harris's own house), Clermiston