Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of a foreign power, she explained: “We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of staying in our homeland. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered unusual at a period 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 assault, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Fight for Identity

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

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display analogous art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Dangers to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body unconcerned or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“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 closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted 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 continues the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Destruction and Abandonment

One glaring example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a unfriendly 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 “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect 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 residents not cherish the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Action

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 made their home among its smashed windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its walls.