Protecting the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, gazing at its twig-detailed ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered paradoxical at a time when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Campaign for Identity

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been working to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit similar art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Challenges to Legacy

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

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the concept 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 civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Disregard

One egregious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped 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 vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect 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 citizens not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s soul, you must first save its history.