Protecting the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, gazing at its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of remaining in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear paradoxical at a period when missile strikes regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit analogous art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Dangers to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze protected buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body apathetic or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack 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 further alleged that the concept for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Demolition 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 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 prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance 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 inflicted 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 prominent champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while engaged in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous business magnates. 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 last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Sadly they lack 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 civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first protect its history.