Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, admiring its tree limb-inspired details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition towards a neighboring state, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our homeland. I had the option to depart, starting anew to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy seems paradoxical at a moment when drone attacks routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Battle for History

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by showcase analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Threats to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze listed buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Neglect

One glaring example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not appreciate the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from that standard,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first protect its history.