Protecting the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance against a foreign power, she explained: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of living in our homeland. I had the option to depart, starting anew to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered unusual at a moment when missile strikes routinely fall 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.

Among the Conflict, a Fight for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group 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 downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase comparable 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 boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Challenges to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down protected buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership apathetic or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Neglect

One glaring example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, excavators tore it down. 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 blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character ivy-draped house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Regrettably they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first protect its history.