Preserving Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of staying in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, starting anew to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy may appear 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 attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Fight for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been striving to preserve 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 constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Challenges to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who raze listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body indifferent or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens 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 decline of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Loss 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 acquired the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. Shortly following the onset of major hostilities, diggers 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 turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders 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 vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad 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 red door 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 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 residents not value the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its shattered windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first protect its walls.