Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of remaining in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems paradoxical at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Campaign for Beauty

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been attempting to save the city’s decaying mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit comparable art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class indifferent or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate adds 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 mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Neglect

One egregious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “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 characterful vine-clad 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 original-style railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first protect its walls.