Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance in the face of 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 staying in our homeland. I could have left, starting anew to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear paradoxical at a period when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers cover broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Battle for Identity

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been working to preserve the city’s crumbling 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 affluent fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by showcase comparable art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Threats to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a governing class unconcerned or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Destruction and Neglect

One glaring demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors remain, 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 nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered 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 vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she admitted. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of destruction and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first cherish its stones.