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

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, admiring its branch-like ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy seems unusual at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Fight for History

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been working to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Threats to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish protected buildings, corrupt officials and a administrative body indifferent or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack real 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 flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the concept for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Neglect

One egregious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while engaged in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. 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 operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Often we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first cherish its history.