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

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, appreciating its tree limb-inspired features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition in the face of an invading force, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of remaining in our homeland. I could have left, moving away to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems strange at a time when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids 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 Bombs, a Battle for History

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase analogous art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Dangers to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack 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 stated that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Abandonment

One notorious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored 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 “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable 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 continuing his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing 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 operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect 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? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

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