Preserving the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, admiring its branch-like features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance towards a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in Ukraine. I could have left, moving away to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear unusual at a time when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each attack, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Battle for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been striving to save 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 erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Challenges to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down protected buildings, unethical officials and a governing class indifferent or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Neglect

One glaring demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad 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 crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect 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 residents not value the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

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