Preserving Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, gazing at its branch-like details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance in the face of an invading force, she elaborated: “We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of staying in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear unusual at a time when missile strikes regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Fight for Identity

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit comparable art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire 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 devil.

Several Challenges to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body unconcerned or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“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 allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Demolition and Abandonment

One egregious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. 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 operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and authentic railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first protect its stones.