Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, appreciating its tree limb-inspired features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance towards a foreign power, she elaborated: “We strive to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of living in our homeland. I had the option to depart, relocating to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered unusual at a time when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers cover broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Battle for Beauty

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s crumbling 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 prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display analogous art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Several Dangers to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body 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 asserted the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

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 committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. Shortly following the onset of major hostilities, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street 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 lost his life in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad 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 crimson entrance and authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom 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 tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not appreciate the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she conceded. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first cherish its stones.