Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, gazing at its tree limb-inspired features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of an invading force, she explained: “We are trying to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s historic buildings seems unusual at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Campaign for Beauty

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

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit similar art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Threats to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze protected buildings, corrupt officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, 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 deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Loss and Abandonment

One notorious demolition site 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 charming brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character 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 crimson entrance and authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Unfortunately they lack 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 that standard,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Preservation work is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s soul, you must first cherish its history.