Carlos Ott

Carlos Adolfo Ott (born October 16, 1946) is a Uruguayan-Canadian architect.

In 1971, Ott graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of the Republic, Uruguay.

Shortly after graduation, he received a Fulbright Scholarship and went to study at the University of Hawaii and graduated with a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design from Washington University's School of Architecture (now Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts) in 1972.

From 1972 to 1974, Ott worked as an architect for Baldwin & Cheshire Architects in Brunswick, Georgia, and for ARQUECO in San Jose, Costa Rica.

In 1975, he moved to Toronto, Canada, working on the Royal Ontario Museum expansion project for Moffat, Moffat Kinoshita & Associates Architects as associate architect.

In 1976, Ott became a Canadian citizen.

From 1979 until 1983, Ott served Cadillac Fairview Corporation as architect responsible for commercial and multi-purpose projects in Canada.

From 1983 to 1993, he joined NORR Partnership Ltd, located in Toronto, the largest Canadian firm, as partner, heading the Design and Architecture Division.

It was in this year 1983, that Ott started his own firm in Toronto.

He became famous when he won the international design competition in 1983 for the construction of the Opéra Bastille in Paris, which was inaugurated on July 14, 1989 (bicentennial of the French Revolution).

Starting from an office in Toronto, Canada, Ott has since expanded his practice internationally.

Ott's practice is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay, with offices in Dubai, Montreal, Shanghai and Toronto.

Ott has designed buildings in Argentina, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Paraguay, The Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Uruguay.

Ott was born in Montevideo, Uruguay.

His father was an architect.

He knew early that he wanted to be an architect.

According to Ott, "I have been preparing for this all of my life."

Ott was sharpening the pencils at his father's office at age three, and later made coffee for the draughtsmen and learning the basics of draughtsmanship at age five.

"I'm one of those Lucky Fellows who knew what he wanted to do in life, at the age of five."

Ott attended a French-language high school.

At 15, he designed a modification used in a production vehicle for GM Uruguay.

He was offered a position and training at GM's headquarters in Detroit, but turned it down to pursue architecture.

In 1983, Ott won the international design competition for the Opera de la Bastille in Paris, France, to commemorate the 200-year anniversary of the French Revolution on July 14, 1989.

Ott was selected from 744 participants as one of the three finalists and then hand-picked by French President François Mitterrand as the winner of this prestigious project.

The project gave him international recognition and opened doors to many countries.

In order to carry out the supervision of this project, he took a leave of absence from NORR, moved to Paris and formed a team of French architects.

The project was very controversial politically, supported by Mitterrand and the French Left, and opposed by the French Right of Jacques Chirac, which caused work stoppages and an extra stage of competition.

The project put a personal strain on Ott and his family and Ott and his wife divorced.

The building of the Bastille and Ott's involvement is documented in the Canadian documentary film Building The Bastille made for the TVO Network of Ontario, Canada and available on YouTube.

Ott returned to Toronto from France in 1989.

Ott joined the team designing and building the Canadian Broadcasting Centre project in downtown Toronto.

The mixed-use complex contained a new CBC headquarters and broadcast centre, and commercial and retail components and was an important project in the conversion of rail lands and industrial lands.

Ott designed the Simcoe Place commercial tower.

The project is documented in the book A building goes up: the making of a skyscraper by Mary Gooderham.

After his house in Toronto burned down, Ott designed and built his own unique office and house on Lytton Boulevard in Toronto, nicknamed by locals as the 'Hollywood Squares' for its matrix-like design.

Under his direction, important projects in Canada and the United Arab Emirates were designed and built, including Simcoe Place (Toronto), Mixed Use Complex and Residential/Commercial Development for HE Sheik Tahnoon in Dubai, Union National Bank (Dubai), National Bank of Dubai Headquarters (Dubai, completed 1998) and Union National Bank (Abu Dhabi).

A missed opportunity was the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

Ott had submitted a design to the emir's assistant, without signing his drawings.

When Ott returned to Dubai three years later, he learned that his contact had been fired and that another firm was proceeding with a modified version of his design.

"My building was identical to Burj Al Arab, but a bit taller. The main concepts—building on the water, a sail motif, a restaurant with an aquarium—were my ideas. The experience spoilt my relationship with myself, not with Dubai. When I drive by and look at the building, I say, 'Oh, what an idiot I was.'"