Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Itself Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, admiring its twig-detailed details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance against a neighboring state, she clarified: “We strive 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 homeland. I could have left, moving away to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a period when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each strike, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Fight for Identity

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been striving to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit similar art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Threats to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down protected buildings, unethical officials and a governing class indifferent or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Neglect

One egregious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped 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 vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish 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 a way off from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of destruction and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s soul, you must first cherish its history.