Protecting the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, gazing at its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance against a foreign power, she explained: “Our aim is to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of living in our homeland. I had the option to depart, starting anew to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems strange at a moment when missile strikes regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each attack, workers seal broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Battle for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been working to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display comparable art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower 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 imp.

Dual Challenges to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership unconcerned or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them 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 all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Demolition and Abandonment

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, diggers demolished it. 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 coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell 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 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for 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 functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door 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 little will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and splendour.”

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