TOKYO — The outcry over the demolition last year of the 53-year-old Hotel Okura in Tokyo surprised no one more than some Japanese historians and architectural specialists.

东京——去年，东京有53年历史的大仓酒店(Hotel Okura)被拆除。对于此事引发的不满，最惊讶的就是日本的历史学者和建筑专家。

Monocle, the global lifestyle magazine, had circulated a petition, savetheokura.com, to register the “outrage from admirers of its unique design.” Tomas Maier, the creative director of Bottega Veneta, an Italian luxury brand, filmed a video memorial and started a social media campaign, #MyMomentAtOkura.

全球生活方式杂志《Monocle》通过savetheokura.com发布了一份请愿书，意图表达“仰慕其独特设计的人的愤怒”。意大利时尚品牌Bottega Veneta创意总监托马斯·迈尔(Tomas Maier)录制了一段纪念视频，并发起了一项社交网络运动“我在大仓酒店的一刻”(#MyMomentAtOkura)。

The hotel’s modernist postwar lobby artfully balanced elements of traditional Japan, like lacquered plum-blossom-shaped tables and chairs, with visions of what was then futuristic, like a lighted world map displaying global time zones. It was frequented by United States presidents including President Obama, and other heads of state, celebrities, artists and designers. It played a central role in the 1960s James Bond novel “You Only Live Twice.”

这座酒店在其战后修建的现代派风格的大堂里，以精湛的技艺平衡了日本传统元素和在当时看来充满未来感的元素，前者如李子花形状的漆器桌椅，后者则包括展示全球时区、亮着背光的世界地图。包括奥巴马总统在内的历任美国总统及各国元首、名人、艺术家、设计师都经常在此下榻。它在1960年代的詹姆斯·邦德(James Bond)小说《雷霆谷》(You Only Live Twice)里扮演了核心角色。

The Taisei Corporation, a construction company, and Mitsubishi Estate, Japan’s second-largest real estate developer, plan to build a 38-story high-rise with 510 rooms, 201 more than the Okura, and add 18 stories of office space. The renovation is estimated to cost $1 billion. The company promised to “faithfully reproduce” several beloved artifacts in the lobby, including wall tapestries, paper lanterns and sliding doors, the lacquered furnishings and map of time zones.

大成建设(Taisei Corporation)和日本第二大房地产开发商三菱地所(Mitsubishi Estate)，计划修建一座38层高的建筑，包含510个房间，比大仓酒店(Okura)现在的规模多出201间，此外还会新增18层的写字楼。整修预计耗资10亿美元。该公司承诺会“忠实地重现”大堂里数个很受喜爱之处，包括壁毯、纸灯笼、滑动门、漆器家具，以及标记时区的地图。

The hotel’s main building and its signature lobby were demolished in September. The South Wing, erected in 1973, will remain operational, and the owners plan to replicate the lobby’s mezzanine, based on a Japanese painting known as “Bridge of the Dream,”and its hexagonal ceiling lights. A newly designed bar will try to recapture the stylish retro-chic of the former Orchid Bar, the Okura’s elegant, dimly lit cocktail haven loved by diplomats, expatriates and journalists. The new complex will also incorporate upgrades to meet the latest standards in earthquake-resistant construction technologies.

酒店的主楼和它标志性的大堂已在9月拆除。1973年建造的南楼仍在正常运行，业主计划重现旧的大堂中，在日本画作《梦桥》(Bridge of the Dream)基础上修建的楼厅，以及其六角形的顶灯。新设计的酒吧将会尝试重现以前“兰吧”(Orchid Bar)那种典雅的复古时尚风格。大仓酒店的这个酒吧里灯光柔暗，这里调制的鸡尾酒深受各国外交官、外籍人士和记者的喜爱。新建筑还会融入升级措施，满足抗震建筑技术的最新标准。

But those plans have done little to assuage the concerns of preservationists, many of whom contend that Tokyo is destroying its greatest postwar architectural assets to accommodate the 2020 Olympics and a recent surge in tourism. In a twist worthy of Bond, the most outspoken critics are not from Japan.

但这些计划几乎没有缓解保护人士的担忧，他们当中的许多人认为，东京为了迎合2020年的奥运会以及近年来兴起的旅游业，正在摧毁战后最伟大的建筑财富。但最乐于发声的批评人士并非来自日本，这简直是一个值得写入007小说的情节。

“When the reconstruction was announced, many foreigners, especially well-known designers, voiced their regret,” said Yoshio Uchida, professor of architecture at Toyo University. “The magnitude of their protest was beyond our imagination.”

“重建的决定宣布后，很多外国人，尤其是知名设计师表达了遗憾，”东洋大学(Toyo University)建筑学教授内田祥士(Yoshio Uchida)表示。“他们抗议的激烈程度超出了我的想象。”

The original Okura opened in 1962, two years before the first Tokyo Olympics, an event that signaled to the world that Japan had recovered from the devastation of World War II. It was erected across the street from the American Embassy, and became so popular with diplomats it was referred to as “the annex.”

原来的大仓酒店开业于1962年，那是东京首次举办奥运会的两年前，这一活动向全世界昭示，日本已从第二次世界大战的疮痍中恢复了起来。大仓酒店就矗立在美国大使馆的街对面，它在外交官当中很受欢迎，以至于曾被称作“附属楼”。

The architect Yoshiro Taniguchi led a design team appointed by Kishichiro Okura, the founder.

当年，建筑师谷口吉郎(Yoshiro Taniguchi)领导了一个由创始人大仓喜七郎(Kishichiro Okura)指派的团队，开展了酒店的设计。

Unlike many postwar Tokyo buildings, whose primary models of modernism were strictly Western, the Okura was built to evoke Japanese-ness, at least as perceived by foreigners. Among other frills, this meant hexagonal hanging lamps shaped like ancient gems and partitions edged with kimono fabrics.

战后东京的许多建筑主要参考的现代派蓝本绝对是西方的，但大仓酒店的建筑却唤起了“日本特色”的联想，至少在外国人看来如此。这意味着形状仿佛是古代宝石的六角形吊灯，以及边角包裹和服织物的屏风，诸如此类。

Recreating the Okura is the original architect’s world-famous son, Yoshio Taniguchi, a graduate of Harvard who 11 years ago redesigned the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Mr. Taniguchi is best known for his lean lines and conservative minimalism – a far cry, some say, from his father’s evocative focus on physical craftsmanship and genius for striking a harmonic balance between East and West.

重建大仓酒店的是原建筑师谷口的儿子，世界著名的建筑师谷口吉生(Yoshio Taniguchi)，后者毕业于哈佛大学，曾在11年前重新设计了纽约现代艺术博物馆(Museum of Modern Art)。谷口吉生最为人熟知的是简练的线条和克制的极简主义风格。一些人形容，这与他父亲的风格大相径庭。其父关注于物件和实体的精湛工艺，也能天才般地在东西方之间找到和谐平衡，而这些都唤起了观者的情感。

Mr. Taniguchi is keenly aware of the affection bestowed upon his father’s Okura. He says he can incorporate the spirit and feel of the original in the new building, whatever its specifications.

谷口吉生非常清楚人们对他父亲设计的大仓酒店赋予的感情。他表示，他能够将原有建筑的精神和感觉融入新建筑，不管通哪种具体方式。

“There were many examples of excellent modern architecture designed in postwar Japan,” he said. “But there are also many that have become rundown over the years. For the structures that were especially beautiful and original, we are trying to restore them with sensitivity to their original forms. We’re constantly making that effort.”

“在日本战后设计的现代建筑中，有很多非常棒的例子，”他说。“但随着时间的流逝，也有很多建筑变得破旧。对于那些特别优美、独创的建筑，我们会尽量恢复原状。我们会一直努力。”

New York enclaves like Soho and TriBeCa are losing local restaurants to high-rise condos, and many fear the same is happening in Tokyo. Mr. Uchida contends that the fate of the Hotel Okura is emblematic of a trend afflicting Japan’s capital.

纽约苏豪区和翠贝卡地区的当地餐厅正在变成高层公寓，很多人担心东京也会出现类似的情况。内田祥士认为，大仓酒店的命运体现了一种困扰日本首都的趋势。

“It’s a symbol of our struggle to balance our need for renewal with the treasures of our city,” he said. “That means it’s very important what happens.”

“这标志着我们在平衡重建和保护城市珍贵建筑上所面临的困难，”他说。“这意味着，接下来发生的事情非常重要。”

Hiroshi Matsukuma, a professor at the Kyoto Institute of Technology and a champion of postwar modernism, sees the virtues of Tokyo architecture in its layers of history. Tokyo’s major edifices of the 20th century, like the 11-story Okura, were modest by comparison with other global cities. But they embodied the organic, rapid growth of the city’s reconstruction, like rings in a tree trunk.

京都工艺纤维大学(Kyoto Institute of Technology)教授、战后现代主义作品的倡导者松隈洋(Hiroshi Matsukuma)认为，东京建筑值得赞叹的一点就是，它们体现了历史的层次。与世界其他城市相比，东京20世纪的主要建筑不算宏伟，比如11层高的大仓酒店。但他们就像树干上的年轮，体现了城市重建那种自然、矫健的发展步伐。

Projects undertaken since 2000, like the reconstructed Marunouchi Buildings, tend to be massive, multipurpose skyscrapers. “The multi-layeredness of Tokyo is something we may be losing now in our city’s major centers,” Mr. Matsukuma wrote. “You can only find it in the back streets, the old neighborhoods, and they are disappearing, too.”

自2000年以来开展的项目往往是建造大规模、多用途的摩天大楼，比如重建的丸之内大厦(Marunouchi Building)。“从其主要中心地区来看，东京或许正在失去它的多层次性，”松隈洋写道。“你只能在那些偏僻小巷、老旧社区看到这种多层次性，但这些地方也在逐渐消失。”

Another challenge for Tokyo is more prosaic: The city has a shortage of hotel rooms. The Japan National Tourism Organization announced late last year that the number of foreign visitors to Japan was expected to near a record-breaking 20 million by the end of 2015, an increase of over 40 percent.

东京面临的另一个挑战则比较平淡：该市缺少酒店客房。日本国家旅游局(Japan National Tourism Organization)在去年晚些时候宣布，到2015年底，日本接待的外国游客的数量将增加逾40%，达到2000万，创下记录。

Occupancy rates for hotels in Tokyo are regularly at 90 percent or higher, and domestic businesses have begun complaining that their traveling salarymen can no longer find affordable rooms. The number of Asian tourists to Japan has exploded in the last year. China alone accounted for 4.7 million visitors, a 109 percent spike in one year.

东京酒店的入住率通常是90%或者更高，国内公司已经开始抱怨，他们的出差人员无法找到价格合适的客房。去年，日本接待的亚洲游客的数量暴增。仅中国游客就达到了470万名，一年内增加了109%。

The small number of additional rooms planned for the reconstructed Okura will do little to mitigate a trend that is forcing Tokyo to embrace another 21st-century development. Airbnb announced last month that Japan is by far its fastest-growing market.

重建后的大仓酒店计划增加的少量额外房间，将远远无法缓和这一迫使东京接受21世纪另一项新发展的趋势。Airbnb在上月宣布，日本目前是其发展最快的市场。