Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, appreciating its twig-detailed ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against a neighboring state, she explained: “Our aim is to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of living in our country. I had the option to depart, relocating to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy may appear unusual at a moment when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Battle for Identity

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

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” 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 a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Threats to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down protected buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership indifferent or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, 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 public institutions,” he remarked.

Loss and Disregard

One notorious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed 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 destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little 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 doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special 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 attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first save its history.