Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, appreciating its branch-like details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance against an invading force, she elaborated: “We strive to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of remaining in our homeland. I had the option to depart, relocating to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear strange at a period when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Campaign for History

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit similar art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire 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 devil.

Multiple Dangers to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who raze protected buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate 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 lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Abandonment

One glaring demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders 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 continuing his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles 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 last 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 “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.