Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, admiring its tree limb-inspired features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance in the face of a foreign power, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of staying in Ukraine. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear unusual at a period when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Fight for Identity

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been striving to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful 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 prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to History

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

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor denies 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 fallen. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Destruction and Abandonment

One egregious demolition site is in the historic 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, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug 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 turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue 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 acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first save its walls.