Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, admiring its tree limb-inspired details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance towards 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 country. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear paradoxical at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Campaign for Identity

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been striving to conserve 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 erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by display comparable art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Threats to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze protected buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class apathetic or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another challenge.

“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 mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Abandonment

One notorious location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. 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 historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying 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 urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she conceded. “This activity is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first save its stones.