Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, gazing at its branch-like ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance against an invading force, she clarified: “We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of living in Ukraine. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear paradoxical at a period when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Fight 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 constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit comparable art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down listed buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership indifferent or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have real 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 bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Destruction and Abandonment

One notorious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched 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 claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that got rid of 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 added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she conceded. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to save a city’s soul, you must first cherish its walls.