 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.