Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, appreciating its branch-like features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition towards a foreign power, she clarified: “We are trying to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of living in our homeland. I could have left, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy may appear strange at a moment when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Campaign for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been working to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful 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 prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit similar art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a governing class indifferent or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Demolition and Disregard

One egregious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, observed 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 stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital 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 survived, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves 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 don’t defend 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 citizens 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 such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we don’t win,” she admitted. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first cherish its stones.