Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, appreciating its twig-detailed ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of a foreign power, she clarified: “We are trying to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of staying in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, relocating to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy seems paradoxical at a time when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Battle for Identity

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

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase analogous art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Challenges to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who raze protected buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class unconcerned or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Destruction and Abandonment

One notorious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. 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 erected for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique 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 vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “This activity is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to save a city’s soul, you must first cherish its stones.