Preserving the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition against a foreign power, she explained: “We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a moment when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Fight for Identity

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s decaying 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 prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase similar art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Dangers to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze listed buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body unconcerned or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Disregard

One notorious location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing 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 vermilion portal and original-style 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 “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Often we don’t win,” she admitted. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first protect its walls.