Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, admiring its tree limb-inspired details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition in the face of a foreign power, she explained: “We are trying to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of remaining in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a period when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Fight for Identity

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase comparable art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Dangers to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Neglect

One egregious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered 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 vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little 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 appreciate the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “This activity is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s soul, you must first protect its walls.