Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition towards a neighboring state, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of staying in our homeland. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy may appear paradoxical at a moment when missile strikes regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each strike, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Battle for History

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been attempting to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display analogous art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Challenges to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who raze historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Neglect

One notorious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to save a city’s heart, you must first cherish its history.