Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance towards an invading force, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, moving away to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance shows our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered unusual at a moment when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each assault, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Battle for Identity

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display similar art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Threats to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish listed buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership apathetic or opposed to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Neglect

One egregious 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 committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. Shortly following the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and authentic railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she admitted. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first save its walls.