Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, appreciating its tree limb-inspired features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance against a foreign power, she explained: “Our aim is to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of living in our homeland. I had the option to depart, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered unusual at a time when missile strikes regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Battle for Identity

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been working to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical 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 wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase analogous art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who raze historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership indifferent or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack 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 added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them 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 protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, 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.

Loss and Neglect

One glaring location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, 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 official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna indicated 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 storybook tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she conceded. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to save a city’s identity, you must first protect its walls.