每天一篇经济学人 | Architecture in Japan 日本的建...

THE NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER stands out from its unremarkable neighbours in Tokyo’s Shimbashi district. Made up of 144 identical cuboids, stacked upon and jutting out from each other, the modular tower is both unabashedly futurist and subtly respectful of tradition. Each cuboid has a round window that evokes both space travel and the ancient architecture of Kyoto. They contain built-in living spaces composed of bath units, beds, desks and household electronics. Kurokawa Kisho, the building’s architect, envisioned his cramped “capsules” as dwellings for what he called Homo movens, or highly mobile modern humans, such as the businessmen who lived in distant suburbs and worked late in Tokyo offices.

在东京新桥一片平平无奇的街区内，中银胶囊塔显得卓尔不群。这座模块式塔楼由144个相同的方形建筑模块参差堆叠而成，既彰显未来主义，也有对传统的含蓄致意。每个方块都有一扇让人联想到太空旅行和京都古建筑的圆形窗户。内里的生活空间包含浴室、床、书桌和各种家电。其建筑师黑川纪章的设想是，这些狭小的“胶囊”可为他所谓的“移动人”（Homo movens）提供居所，例如家住远郊而需要在东京的办公室工作至夜深的商务人士。

When the tower first went up in 1972, it became a prime example of Metabolism, an influential architectural movement in post-war Japan. Metabolism’s chief exponents had studied under Tange Kenzo, an architect whose works included the park and memorial built in Hiroshima to commemorate the nuclear attack of 1945. The Metabolists designed buildings to be adaptable and replaceable, and resilient to threats such as wars and earthquakes. But not, alas, to neglect. On April 12th work started on demolishing the tower, following a long but ultimately futile battle to preserve it.

中银胶囊塔于1972年建成，成为战后日本兴起的一个有影响力的建筑流派——新陈代谢派——的典范。其主要倡导者曾师从丹下健三，这位建筑师的作品包括广岛纪念1945年原子弹爆炸的公园和纪念馆。他们的设计理念是让建筑具有适应性和可替换性，能抵御战争和地震等威胁。可惜却没包括抵御疏于维护的威胁。4月12日，中银胶囊塔的拆除工作启动，此前争取保留该大楼的长时间努力终告徒劳。

Given that, it is ironic that Metabolists sought to shift thinking about architecture from the mechanical to the biological, conceiving of cities as organisms that grew and changed rather than as static constructions to be planned and maintained. “We regard human society as a vital process, a continuous development from atom to nebula,” they declared in their first manifesto, written ahead of the World Design Conference in Tokyo in 1960.

新陈代谢派当年一心倡导要把建筑当做生命体而非机械物来对待，认为城市应该是不断生长变化的有机体，而不是需要规划和维护的静态构造。对比中银胶囊塔如今的命运，一切显得颇为讽刺。他们在1960年东京世界设计大会（World Design Conference）召开前发表的首个宣言中提出：“我们把人类社会看作是一个充满生机的历程，是一个从原子到星云不断发展的过程。”

Their ideas were informed both by Western modernism and Eastern philosophy, drawing particular inspiration from Japan’s Ise shrine, which has been entirely reconstructed almost every 20 years since the 7th century. Metabolism also embodied the energy of Japan’s rapid-growth era. The Metabolists did more than just design buildings: in their hands, architecture became a field for reimagining Japanese identity after the ravages of the war.

他们的理念同时受西方现代主义和东方哲学的影响，尤其从日本的伊势神宫汲取灵感，该神宫自七世纪以来几乎每隔20年就会全面重建一次。新陈代谢派也体现了日本快速增长的年代里的那种精气神。这一派的建筑师不仅是在设计建筑：在他们手中，建筑成了一个在受战争蹂躏后重构日本身份的领域。

In their texts, the architects pondered the relationship between technology and humanity. They considered the demands of designing cities for a growing urban population and a humming economy. They envisioned structures that floated over the seas and reached for the skies. Kurokawa called his capsules “cyborg architecture”, where “man, machine and space build a new organic body”.

这些建筑师撰文讨论技术和人类的关系。他们思考城镇人口不断增长和经济蓬勃发展对城市设计的需求。他们设想着漂浮在海上和延伸向天空的建筑结构。黑川纪章称自己设计的胶囊方块为“赛博格建筑”，在里面“人、机器和空间构成了一个新的有机体”。

The ideas were characteristic of an era of change and possibility. “There was great momentum in society,” says Maeda Tatsuyuki of Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project. “It was a period when society was bolder and could afford to do such things.”

这些想法正体现了那个充满变化和可能性的时代。“那时社会上冲劲十足，”参与“中银胶囊塔保护修复行动”的前田达之说，“那个时期，社会更大胆，也承受得住这样的尝试。”

By the end, the structure was decaying and riddled with asbestos. Many of the capsules were no longer habitable. The tower’s destruction serves as a reminder of the relative caution of contemporary Japan. “These days, nobody would dare to build anything like that,” Mr Maeda sighs. Yet it is also reflective of the same culture of impermanence that once inspired the Metabolists. In Japan, buildings are traditionally made of wood and paper, not intended to last centuries. There is not much of a preservationist movement. “Japan seems to demolish things before there’s even debate,” says Mr Maeda.

到最后，中银胶囊塔日益破败，石棉污染严重。里面许多胶囊房间已不再适合居住。大楼被拆除印证当代日本社会变得相对谨慎。“现在没人敢建造这样的东西了。”前田达之叹道。但这也正体现了那种催生了新陈代谢派的无常文化。在日本，传统建筑由木材和纸张建造，并不求千百年屹立不倒。建筑保护运动也不多见。“日本在拆东西前似乎都不会先讨论一下。”前田达之说。

Still, fans and residents of the Nakagin tower had hoped to raise funds to replace the capsules, in line with Kurokawa’s initial concept. They had been in negotiations about buying the building. But the pandemic halted any momentum they had. Mr Maeda’s group now hopes to rescue some 40 individual capsules, remove the asbestos, recreate the interiors and give them new lives at museums around the world. Mr Maeda compares the process to a “withered dandelion” spreading its seeds. “The capsules will take on a life of their own, scattered across different locations.” It is in keeping with the spirit of Metabolism. 

尽管如此，中银胶囊塔的粉丝和住户曾希望筹集资金来更新胶囊，就像黑川纪章最初设想的那样。他们先前已经在就买下这栋楼展开谈判。但新冠疫情令一切进展戛然而止。前田达之的行动小组现在希望能保住这里面的约40个胶囊，清除其中的石棉，重新设计内部构造，让它们在世界各地的博物馆里重获新生。前田达之把这比作是让“枯萎的蒲公英”传播种子。“这些胶囊将散落在不同地方，觅得新生。”这正契合了新陈代谢派的精神。