Protecting the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, appreciating its branch-like ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance towards a neighboring state, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of remaining in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear unusual at a time when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Campaign for Identity

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been striving 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 built in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Several Threats to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership indifferent or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack genuine 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 bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted 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 lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, 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 decline of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Neglect

One notorious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, 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 asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful 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 admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. 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 red door and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she conceded. “This activity is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first protect its stones.