ABSTRACT
Even as the nuances of the design were questioned, the aim for a centre of national repute seemed to be bearing fruit. Sensitive negotiations between the Arts Council of Great Britain, the Western Orchestral Society, and Poole Borough Council raised the hitherto unthinkable prospect of the orchestras abandoning the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth and headquartering in the new building, to the Borough Council’s unbridled pleasure. The orchestras’ administrative building was indicated as an optional extra, pending funding. The orchestras did ultimately move to Poole and their administration building was built, in a different architectural idiom, perhaps by different designers, behind the stage of the eventual Wessex Hall.
