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

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she explained: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our homeland. I had the option to depart, relocating to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy seems unusual at a period when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Fight for History

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display similar art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Challenges to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Loss and Disregard

One notorious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered 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 vermilion portal 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 nothing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from civilization,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first cherish its history.