Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, admiring its twig-detailed features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition in the face of a foreign power, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of staying in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Battle for History

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been working to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit similar art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Dangers to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body apathetic or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Demolition and Neglect

One notorious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored 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 demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate 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 carrying on his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and beauty.”

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