Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, appreciating its branch-like details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition in the face of a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of staying in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered strange at a time when missile strikes regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Battle for Identity

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been attempting to preserve 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 erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby display similar art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Dangers to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down protected buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership indifferent or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Abandonment

One egregious location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, observed 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 asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were originally 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 was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful 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 authentic railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “This activity is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and neglect, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first cherish its history.