Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, appreciating its branch-like features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition towards a foreign power, she elaborated: “We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of staying in our country. I could have left, starting anew to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems strange at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Battle for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been working to conserve the city’s decaying 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 wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by showcase similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish protected buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class unconcerned or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was friends 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 rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see deterioration of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Disregard

One notorious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first protect its history.