Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of an invading force, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of living in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear strange at a moment when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been notably increased. After each assault, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Battle for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been working to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

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

Dual Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another difficulty.

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

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Neglect

One glaring example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, 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 demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character 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 red door and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Regrettably they are without 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 civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

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