In 1963, there was a catastrophic earthquake that killed over 2000 people, and destroyed more than half of the buildings in this ancient city. Brutalism - a style of architecture or art characterized by a deliberate plainness, crudity, or violence of imagery. The term was first applied to functionalist buildings of the 1950s and 1960s that made much use of steel and concrete in starkly massive blocks.- was the architectural style of the city at the time. In 1965, Japanese architect Kenzo Tange was selected as the winner of an international competition to redesign, and rebuild the city centre. in the brutalist style.