Preserving the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, gazing at its tree limb-inspired details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition against an invading force, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. I could have left, relocating to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear paradoxical at a time when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers cover broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Fight for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Challenges to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably 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.

Destruction and Neglect

One notorious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Regrettably 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 not yet close from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this heritage and splendour.”

In the face of war and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.