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

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, gazing at its twig-detailed ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of remaining in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, moving away to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered paradoxical at a period when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Battle for Identity

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

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase analogous art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down listed buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class indifferent or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable 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 the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility 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 tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its shattered windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

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