Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Itself Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against a foreign power, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of living in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered paradoxical at a time when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Battle for Identity

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase similar art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Challenges to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class indifferent or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing genuine 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 flatten important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

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

Loss and Disregard

One notorious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped 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 red door and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for 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 “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Regrettably they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this past and splendour.”

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