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

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance against a neighboring state, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of staying in our homeland. I had the option to depart, moving away to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered unusual at a time when drone attacks regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers seal broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Fight for Identity

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic 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 delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase comparable art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to History

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish protected buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class indifferent or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Abandonment

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a stern 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 stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves 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 neglect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Regrettably they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of war and neglect, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first cherish its stones.