Preserving the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, appreciating its twig-detailed ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance in the face of a foreign power, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our country. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered unusual at a moment when drone attacks regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Battle for Identity

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been working to conserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit comparable art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Dangers to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital is reminiscent 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 engaged in combat or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, 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 initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy 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 go on 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 serves 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 “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have 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 civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of destruction and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to save a city’s heart, you must first save its history.