Joseph Plottel

Joseph Plottel (1883– 28 May 1977) was a British born architect who was active in Melbourne, Australia between 1911 and World War II, working in a modernist style with some significant Byzantine-Romanesque features.

Early life and career

Plottel was born in Yorkshire in 1883 and went to Australia with his family in 1895 at the age of 12, but returned to England soon after when his father died. He trained as a draftsman with London architect Robert Moore, where he was advised to head for the colonies for advancement.

He began working in Melbourne, accruing a number of large commissions including Michael's Comer Store in Elizabeth Street and the Footscray Barnet Glass Rubber Co. Ltd. factory,

He moved to South Africa in 1903, working in Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg, but took passage to the United States where he saw prospects for architects after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. When he ran out of money en route, he decided to stay in Melbourne. Here he was embraced by the local Jewish community and soon found his feet, initially taking up a position with the Railway’s Engineering Department where he worked as a draftsman for about three years. He obtained work as a draftsman with the noted Federation-style architect Nahum Burnett and then set up his own office in 1911.