Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its twig-detailed ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance against a foreign power, she explained: “Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of remaining in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a time when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each assault, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Campaign for Identity

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving to conserve 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 wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby display similar art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Dangers to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class indifferent or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Disregard

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life 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 at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, 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 nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect 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? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to 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 architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first save its stones.